Old Friends
by FantasticMisticalWonder
Summary: They met when they were children, their mother's had died. They felt a spark, a kindredship that grew into friendship. 10 years later, when Eric takes a mute Ariel to Agrabah, something akin to recognition is ignited between the decievers. Ariel/Aladdin
1. Prologue

In a far away land, where fairytales such as mermaids and genies exist, a young boy sat beside a body covered in a blanket. There were tears running down his filthy face. No one seemed to notice him, but that was okay. He didn't want anybody to bother him. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with his mother . . . or what was left of her.

Hesitantly, he reached down and pulled the blanket away to reveal her face. He could barely recognize her, she was so covered in the boils and scars that the plague had left her with. He bit his lip as the tears started to come faster, and he hugged his legs to his chest and sobbed into his knees. She was really gone. At first he hadn't known why she had locked herself in their tiny closet, but as her voice grew more course, and weaker with everyday, he understood. The sickness that was terrorizing Agrabah had found it's way to Aladdin's mother. So, he spent all of his time sitting by the wooden door of the closet, talking to her. He fretted briefly about how he was to get food to her, but his mother told him not to worry, that she would be out of the closet soon. And she was right. Three days later she was dead. Dragged out of the closet by her son when she didn't answer his call; shaken and cried over when she didn't wake up. Cursed and shouted at for leaving, and dragged once more, but his time out of the hut so that the dead-collectors wouldn't get her. But her body was so heavy, and the boy was weighted down with sorrow so much that he gave up trying to hide her, and covered her with an old blanket to give her some semblance of a funeral.

Looking down at his mother's face, Aladdin covered it up once more and stood. He couldn't stay here any longer. He could only take looking at his mother's corpse for so long.

Aladdin looked down at the covered figure of his mother, and he turned and ran. He gasped for air and blinked rapidly to stop the tears from blurring his vision. However, the tears only came more rapidly, and Aladdin ran blindly. He tripped over a stone, and as he fell to the ground he vomited. What a pitiful sight he must have been: a five year-old boy upchucking and crying.

Once he had gotten his stomach under control, Aladdin wiped his mouth and rubbed the tears from his eyes. He looked around and saw that he had somehow ended up on the shore. He walked over to a rock overlooking the sea and kneeled down, looking at his reflection. His mother had always said that he would grow up to be a handsome man, but Aladdin only saw a plain five-year-old boy, with dark tear-streaked cheeks, sad brown eyes, and messy black hair.

Just then, the water rippled, and the image changed. It transformed into a girl about his age, with long flaming red hair, big blue eyes, and pale skin. The girl rose up from out of the water until her face was inches away from Aladdin's. He sat still, transfixed as she raised her pale hand up to his face, and touched his cheek. When she pulled away her hand, on her finger was a single tear. She stared at the tear in wonder.

"You're leaking," she said.

"I'm crying," Aladdin said, putting his hand to wear she touched his cheek.

"I know that! Why is water coming from you're eyes, though?" the girl asked.

Aladdin thought about this for a while.

"I think it helps get rid of grief." Aladdin said.

The girl nodded. "That makes sense. I just wish that I could get rid of my grief that easily." She said wistfully.

"What grief do you have?" Aladdin asked, thinking that no one could be experiencing as much pain as him. His mother had practically died in his arms!

"My mother just died in a . . . . in an accident." The girl said, looking down.

Aladdin's eyes opened wide, and he instantly regretted the selfish thought that had passed through his mind. She knew exactly what he was going through.

"I – I'm so sorry. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love like that." Aladdin said.

"Do you?" The girl asked, looking up at Aladdin with her big blue eyes.

Aladdin all of a sudden felt very dry-mouthed as he looked into her blue eyes, but he managed to push through the words. Somehow, he managed to retell and re-live his mother's last days, his tears returning towards the end of his story.

"Don't cry! Please don't cry!" The girl cried, sliding out of the water to sit next to Aladdin. He was so grief stricken, that he didn't even see that instead of legs, the girl had a long emerald green tail.

The girl cradled Aladdin's head, and began to sing to him in her clear voice.

_Oh the waves roll low_

_And the waves roll high_

_And so it goes_

_Under a bright blue_

_Endless sky_

_Waves try to measure_

_The days that we treasure_

_Wave hello_

_And wave good bye_

Aladdin snuffled. "That was beautiful." He said.

The girl smiled. "Thank you, my mother used to sing that to me and my sisters before we went to bed."

Aladdin nodded, and stuck his hand out to her.

"My name's Aladdin." he said.

"I'm Ariel!" the girl said brightly.

Aladdin looked down, and noticed the long emerald green tail seated next to him.

"Holy camel! You've got a tail!" he exclaimed.

Ariel giggled. "Of course I do! How else would I get a long? You don't thing I'd have tentacles, do you?"

Aladdin just shook his head, dazed. "N-no, I just don't meet many mermaids." he stammered.

"Well then, I'm happy to be the first one you've met!" Ariel said, smiling at Aladdin.

Aladdin couldn't hold her gaze for very long, and felt his cheeks warm up. Ariel made him very uncomfortable for some reason. "Oh look! It's almost sunset!" Aladdin pointed out, trying to direct Ariel's attention elsewhere.

"Sunset!" Ariel exclaimed. "Oh no, Daddy's going to kill me! See you later, Aladdin!" Ariel said, quickly kissing him on the cheek before she jumped into the water.

Aladdin sat there, dazed. He put his hand to where she kissed him and smiled.

"I just met a mermaid." he realized, his smile growing bigger.

All of a sudden, it seemed like a weight had been lifted off of Aladdin's heart, and he laughed.

"I just met a _mermaid!_" Aladdin shouted, not believing it.

Aladdin skipped all the way back home, forgetting that there would be no mother there to great him. No, all of his thoughts were focused on the red-headed girl with a tail whom he had just met. He laughed as he remembered how fascinated she had been, and how bright she had seemed, even though she had faced such tragedy. Aladdin wasn't surprised when he found himself fiercely hoping to see his new friend again soon.

He never did.


	2. A Whole New World

Ariel felt like a dried out fish.

She was riding in Eric's carriage, with Max on her lap and Sebastian in her pocket, riding through a desert of never ending sand and sand.

It wasn't like she could complain or anything, she was, after all, mute. It was her second day of being a human, and Ursula's spell held true. It would only be broken if Ariel could get Eric to kiss her. A kiss of true love. And even then, she would still have no voice. She would have just gotten out of being Ursula's servant for eternity.

"Don't worry! We're almost there!" Eric said, smiling. He was sitting across from her, and Grimsby – Eric's advisor/father figure – was sitting next to him.

"I'd forgotten how dreadfully hot Agrabah can get in the summer." Grimsby said, fanning himself with his kerchief, which had until an hour ago been folded neatly in his jacket pocket.

"It's the same temperature in the winter as well." Eric said, smiling.

Ariel had to smile at that.

"Well, it should be exciting, seeing Jasmine again. It seems like it was only yesterday that you two were trying to drown each other in the fountain." Grimsby said.

Eric smiled. "Yeah, it's amazing how fast things change. Though I shouldn't be one to talk, I was changing as well. You were the one who had to watch." Eric smiled at Grimsby.

"Yes, it's hard to believe that the little girl you used to visit every summer – until your mother died most unfortunately – is getting married! By the way, have you ever heard of this Prince Ali Ababua?" Grimsby asked.

Eric shook his head. "You know I don't Grimsby. You taught me everything I know about foreign affairs. How about you, have you ever heard of this Prince?" Eric asked, looking at Ariel.

Ariel shook her head.

"You know, Eric, you really should learn her name." Grimsby chided.

"I know Grimsby. Hey! How about I try and guess it?" Eric offered.

"Go ahead." Grimsby said.

Eric turned to Ariel, and she immediately felt her heart skip a beat.

"Hm, let's see . . . Aurora?" Eric asked.

Ariel shook her head, smiling.

"Belle?"

Ariel shook her head again, still smiling.

"Jane? No, okay, um, Esmeralda? No, alright. Meg? Giselle? Wendy? Tiana? I'm running out of ideas here." Eric said.

Ariel just smiled.

"You like being mysterious, don't you?" Eric asked.

Once more, Ariel just smiled.

Eric sighed. "Grimsby, do you have any ideas?" He asked.

"Try asking her what letter her name starts with." Grimsby suggested as he tried to wrestle himself out of his jacket.

"All right then, does your name start with an A? Uhh, I mean, does it start with an _ai_ sound?" Eric asked, as the attempts to have Ariel write down her name had failed, since Atlantian writing was different from the human written word.

Ariel nodded her head, smiling broadly.

"Oh, well that was easy. Uh, Amy? Ariella?" Eric began before Ariel stopped him.

"Ariella? That's your name?" Eric asked.

Ariel spread her pointer finger and thumb slightly apart.

"Oh, that's close? Aria? Ariel? Ariel? That's your name? Hey, Grimsby, her name's Ariel!" Eric said excitedly.

"Yes, I heard that the first time, Eric." Grimsby said, loosening his tie.

"You know to dress lightly when visiting Agrabah, Grimsby." Eric said.

"Yes, I know Eric. I'm wearing the silk suit, not the satin one." Grimsby said, rolling up his sleeves, revealing his knobby elbows.

Eric shook his head, smiling, and turned back to Ariel. He frowned when he saw her wipe the sweat off her forehead.

"You don't feel woozy or anything, do you? I wouldn't want you to get a heat stroke. Is Max making you too hot?" Eric asked, a worry line creasing between his eyebrows.

Ariel shook her head, smiling.

"Your Highness, we're nearing the gates of Agrabah." The coachman said, peaking in through the window that allowed the passenger to see what was going on in the drivers seat. Strangely, his skin had taken on a bright red tone.

"Edmund! You're sunburned! Why didn't you tell me and let me take the reigns for a while?" Eric asked.

Edmund looked shocked. "I . . . I didn't think that it would be polite to complain, sir."

"I've told you before, don't ever do something where you get hurt over something silly like me getting too hot. You could have gotten a heat-stroke!" Eric chided.

Edmund, still looking quite astonished, shook his head. "Y-yes, sire. I-I'll remember that next time." He stammered before returning his attention to the upcoming city.

Eric shook his head. "He may remember it, but he won't do it." He said.

"Of course he won't, it's against everything he was taught, Eric." Grimsby said, taking out his journal to provide a more useful fan than his kerchief.

"I guess that saying is right." Eric said wistfully.

"What saying?" Grimsby asked.

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Eric said ruefully.

"Why don't you tell Ariel here about Agrabah." Grimsby suggested.

Eric shrugged, then turned to Ariel.

"Well, Ariel, I think you already know that Agrabah is extremely hot, and there's pretty much sand everywhere. They've somehow managed to make the palace gardens green, and the rest of the town gets most of their food from fishing, hunting camels, and fruit from the oasis's that are spread out around. There's one nearby, and it's a fairly large one. It's so large, that a river is running through it, fed from the sea. I think you'll like Agrabah, it's very lively. Just be careful of street rats and thieves in the market place." Eric warned.

Ariel nodded to show that she understood, and it looked like Eric was going to say something more, but the carriage stopped suddenly.

"We're here, you're Majesty." Edmund said, looking through the window.

Eric smiled at Ariel. "Come on, I want you to meet Jasmine. And I for one would like to meet this mysterious Prince she's marrying."

**So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? No comment? I need to know! I'll try to upload the next chapter ASAP, but remember, I'm writing two stories here, and I might start up a new one! Give me a break, okay! Review, comment, and heck, give me suggestions! I want to hear what you think should happen! I'll write soon!**

**~FantasticMysticalWonder**


	3. A Forgotten Dream

Aladdin paced up and down in his room, the nervousness and agitation eating at him. He and Jasmine were going to be married! He had been so afraid that she would discover his disguise, but she didn't know that he was indeed a street rat instead of a rich prince. Aladdin sighed as he sat down on his bed. He hated lying to her like this, but it was the only way for them to be together, and he was woven too deeply into his lie to tell Jasmine the truth now. Aladdin groaned as he fell back onto his bed. He should have listened to Genie and been himself. To make matters worse, Aladdin just knew that Jafar, the royal advisor, was going to try something. Jafar already suspected that Aladdin was lying, and Aladdin knew that Jafar wanted the throne for himself. Jafar was going to do something, Aladdin just wasn't sure of when.

"Wow, Al. You know, they say that getting married is supposed to relieve stress, not cause it." Genie said, seeming to appear out of nowhere as he sat down next to Aladdin.

"I know, Genie, it's just . . ." Aladdin began, but Genie cut him off.

"I know, Al, you're afraid that Jasmine might still have feelings for that childhood sweetheart of hers that's coming over for the wedding." Genie said.

Aladdin sighed and sat up. "It's not that, Genie. And they never were sweethearts!" Aladdin added sharply.

Genie morphed into a man with a green cap and suit to match, with a pipe and a huge magnifying glass. Genie held the oversized viewing instrument to Aladdin's face, and looked at it critically.

"Hm, denial does not suit you boy." Genie said in a thick English accent.

"Genie, I'm serious!" Aladdin said agitatedly.

Genie immediately shrank until he was a small woman with bobbed brown hair, freckles, and wearing an orange sweater and big round glasses.

"You wouldn't hit a girl with glasses, would you?" Genie asked in a high voice.

"Genie . . ." Aladdin began, but he was again interrupted by a knocking on the door.

"Ali, it's me! Eric's here!" Came Jasmine's voice.

"Coming!" Aladdin called before stuffing Genie's lamp into his turban, and placing the wrapping on his head. Genie barely managed to get inside the lamp before it was between the turban and Aladdin's head. Aladdin opened the door to reveal a beautiful girl with hair as black as night, the skin of a mahogany tree, and eyes that were so dark a brown, that you almost couldn't tell the pupils from the irises.

Jasmine.

_His_ Jasmine.

"Hello, Jasmine." Aladdin said, smiling down at the beauty before him.

"Hello, Ali," Jasmine said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Aladdin. It was too quick for Aladdin's tastes.

"Come on, Eric's here." Jasmine whispered as she pulled away from Aladdin.

Aladdin faked a smile for Jasmine as she led him down the pathway to the gates of the palace. Just past the gates was a carriage, and standing outside the carriage was an older man with gray hair, and wearing the remains of a very expensive suit. Apparently, the intense heat they were experiencing in Agrabah had forced the man to take off his jacket and tie. Standing next to the older man, was a man around Aladdin and Jasmine's age, with skin tanned from years at sea, black hair, and dark blue eyes that mirrored the midnight sky. Jasmine smiled and ran over to the man, giving him a hug. Once she parted from the hug, she stared incredulously at the shaggy gray and white dog at the man's feet.

"You brought Max!" Jasmine exclaimed. It was more of a statement than a question.

The man, who Aladdin assumed was Eric smiled. "Yeah, I thought you would be glad to see him again." He said.

Jasmine smiled. "I am, but the poor thing must be dying in this heat!" She said.

Eric responded to that, but Aladdin didn't hear what he said. Because, at that moment, someone else stepped out from the carriage.

She had long flaming red hair, and skin that was so pale that she could have been spending all of her time under the sea – unlike Eric who Aladdin knew spent most of his time above the sea. The girl had shining blue eyes that were larger than normal, and they looked upon her surroundings with wonder. Aladdin noticed that she walked like a child that was still learning how to walk, but her every move was filled with energy and inhuman grace. However, what caught Aladdin's attention was how _familiar _this girl was, like from a long forgotten dream. Aladdin noticed with a tinge of jealousy that the girl's eyes became even brighter when they rested on Eric. Max broke away from Jasmine's stroking and ran over to the girl, barking and whining for attention. The girl smiled, and crouched down to pet the dog. The dog panted, and his stump of a tail wagged up and down.

"Max! You were sitting on Ariel's lap for the entire ride here! You haven't seen Jasmine in years!" Eric said.

Jasmine smiled. "It's alright; he was still a puppy when I last saw him. He probably doesn't remember me."

Eric sighed and looked at Aladdin curiously.

"Is this the infamous Price Ali Ababuah we've heard all about?" Eric asked.

Jasmine smiled. "Yes. Eric, meet Prince Ali. Ali, meet Prince Eric." Jasmine said.

Eric held his hand out to Aladdin. "I'm pleased to meet you." Eric said.

Aladdin took Eric's hand and shook it. "Same here," he said.

"Ali, this is Grimsby, Eric's advisor. Grimsby, meet Prince Ali." Jasmine said, gesturing at the old man and back to Aladdin.

Grimsby smiled at Aladdin. "Pleased to meet you dear boy. And congratulations on the big announcement. Now, if you don't mind Jasmine, I think that I'll go to my room, I don't think I can take any more of this heat, it's _killing_ me!" Grimsby said before rushing inside.

Eric chuckled and gestured for the red-headed girl to come foreword.

"Jasmine, Ali, I'd like to introduce you to Ariel." He said.

The name struck a cord in Aladdin's memory, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it from. It was too foreign for him to have heard it in the market place, and Aladdin certainly hadn't seen Ariel in the market place, either. There was no one in Agrabah with red hair or skin as pale as Ariel's.

Jasmine smiled at Ariel. "Hello, Ariel. Where are you from?"

"We don't know, I found her on the shore wrapped only in a ship's sale yesterday." Eric said.

"Well, didn't you ever ask her where she came from?" Jasmine asked.

Eric coughed. "Well, you see here –" Eric began, but was interrupted by Ariel. She patted her throat and shook her head. Jasmine's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, you're mute?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel nodded.

Aladdin almost sagged in defeat. He had never met a mute person before; he _certainly_ would have remembered that. Had she been mute always, or was it a recent thing? Aladdin was about to ask, but he was cut off by Jasmine.

"Eric! Why didn't you tell her to wear light clothing? She's practically fainting in that heavy dress!" Jasmine scolded.

Eric smiled. "You expect me to tell a girl I met only yesterday what to wear?" He asked.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and gently took Ariel's arm.

"Come on, I'll get you into something cooler. Ali, why don't you and Eric wait for us in the garden so you can get acquainted?" Jasmine asked as she pulled Ariel into the palace.

Eric and Aladdin looked at each other and shrugged.

"Come on, I'll show you where the garden is . . . oh, wait, you already know, don't you?" Aladdin asked.

Eric smiled. "Come on, I think we'd better get there before the girls do." He said jokingly.

Aladdin forced out a smile and followed Eric to the garden. Once there, they both sat down on the bench near the fountain. Eric chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Aladdin asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just remembering the time when Jasmine and I made a huge mud pile over there, and she ended up pushing me in it because I said her birds were stupid." Eric said, smiling at the memory.

Aladdin felt another twinge of jealousy, but he quickly suppressed it.

"So, has Ariel always been mute?" Aladdin asked.

Eric shrugged. "I don't know, I only met her yesterday. Grimsby and I spent most of the trip here trying to guess her name. We found it out just as we arrived." Eric said.

"Why did you bring her along if you barely know her?" Aladdin asked.

Eric sighed. "A few nights ago, the ship I was on crashed. I would have drowned, but a girl saved me. I didn't see her face clearly, but she sang to me in the most beautiful voice. But, before I was fully aware, she ran away. Since then, I told myself that I would find that girl and marry her, but Grimsby kept on telling me that was a silly idea and that no girl in her right mind would go around saving drowning people. Well, then Ariel shows up, but she's mute so she can't be the one who saved me, but she makes me happy. I decided to bring her along because I want to get to know her better, because for some reason, I feel like I have a limited amount of time with her. And, there's one more reason. You see, Grimsby keeps on saying that I'll need to get married soon, so he keeps on inviting all of these princesses over, hoping that I'll choose on of them."

"What are you getting at?" Aladdin asked.

Eric took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask Ariel to marry me."


	4. A Hero

Ariel walked through the palace with Jasmine. It was much cooler in the palace than outside, but Ariel was still hoping that Jasmine would be able to find something lighter for her to wear. When Ariel first saw Jasmine, she felt a pang of jealousy at how beautiful foreign princess was. But that soon was forgotten when she saw the boy that Jasmine was going to marry.

He had dark skin like everyone in this country, but it was slightly darker than Jasmine's, like he had been in the sun more than she. His dark brown eyes were kind and very large, and even though it was mostly hidden under a turban, she noticed that he had messy coal black hair. He wasn't much taller than Jasmine – unlike Eric who towered over them all – and she noticed how he didn't seem to fill out the baggy clothes he was wearing. He seemed skinny, like he had been living on table scrapings or less his whole life. He didn't look much like a prince. But Ariel felt like she knew this boy, though she couldn't remember when or where. Maybe she had seen him while spying on humans. They couldn't have _met_, as the only human that Ariel had interacted with while a mermaid was Eric. At least, that's all that Ariel could remember.

"Here's my room," Jasmine said, opening a door to reveal a room with a vanity, a lounging couch, and a changing screen.

Something orange and black darted out from the room, and cornered Ariel against the wall. It looked like some of the cats that Ariel had seen in Eric's castle, but bigger. Also, none of the cats back at Eric's palace looked like they could eat you for dinner. Ariel stood frozen against the wall as the cat sniffed the pocket that held Sebastian. Ariel felt the tiny crab tremble, and in order to protect her friend, Ariel reached out a hand and cautiously began to pet the giant cat. She felt the silky fur ripple, and she heard a rumble come from deep inside the animal.

"Oh, he likes you! For a minute there, I was afraid that he thought you were lunch!" Jasmine said, laughing.

Ariel smiled at Jasmine, and continued to pet the cat, and soon her fear of it vanished. She considered kneeling down to pet it, but Jasmine grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and gently pulled him into her room.

"Come on, Raja, you can't expect every guest to make their entire stay about you. Sorry about that, Ariel. He normally hates strangers, though I'm glad he took a liking to you. He didn't really like Ali when he first met him, though I didn't like him much, either. I thought he was like all the other princes who wanted my hand, but he was so different. In fact, he didn't act like a prince at all! He acted like a normal person." Jasmine said, smiling.

Ariel smiled, too, but the heat was starting to make her a little light-headed.

Jasmine's eyes opened wide when she saw Ariel swoon in the heat, and she quickly grabbed a dress and tossed it over to Ariel.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get side-tracked. Here! Put this on. You can change behind the screen." Jasmine said, ushering Ariel over to the changing screen.

Ariel quickly changed into the light blue dress and transferred Sebastian into the folds of this one. The little crab was still shaking from the encounter with Raja, and it looked like he was suffering from the heat as much as Grimsby was. She remembered hearing something about a fountain; perhaps she would put Sebastian there to give him a chance to cool off. She stepped out from behind the screen and Jasmine smiled.

"You look lovely, that dress never looked good on me, but it brings out your eyes." She said, pulling Ariel over to her mirror. The dress Ariel was wearing was a light-blue one with straps that curled around her neck like a necklace. Jasmine frowned, as if something was wrong, then she lit up and took the bow from Ariel's hair. The hair that had been pulled back from the bow fell down over her shoulders, and Jasmine smiled in satisfaction.

"That's better! Do you feel cooler?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel nodded; it was still warm, but she felt much better now in the lighter dress.

Jasmine smiled. "Good! Come on; let's go down to the garden."

Ariel smiled in response, and followed Jasmine down the winding staircase. However, once they were down the stairs, they were detained from going any further by a tall, skinny man in a black cloak and a black and red robe. He looked sort of tall, dark, and . . . twisted. Perched on his shoulder was a bright red bird with a very large beak. When Jasmine saw the man, Ariel saw her nose wrinkle in distaste.

"Good morning, Princess." The man said.

"Rawp! Good morning!" The bird cawed in response.

"Good morning, Jafar." Jasmine said coolly.

Jafar looked at Ariel, and Ariel felt a shiver run through her.

"And who is this lovely flower?" Jafar asked in his smooth voice.

"Ariel, this is my father's Royal Advisor, Jafar. Jafar, this is Ariel, Eric's friend." Jasmine said.

Jafar nodded. "Ah, the mute girl. Yes, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Jafar said, bowing and taking Ariel's hand in his and kissing it. Ariel inwardly shuddered at the feel of his lips against her skin. Jafar must have sensed Ariel's discomfort, because he smiled.

"I won't detain you ladies any longer. I hope you have a memorable time in Agrabah, my lady." Jafar said before walking away.

"Rawp! Have a nice day!" The bird squawked.

"Hush, Iago." Jafar said to the bird irritably.

"Rawp! Hush Jafar!" The bird responded.

"When I become Queen, I'm going to make sure to get rid of him and that bird." Jasmine muttered.

Ariel silently agreed with Jasmine's decision. However, one thing nagged at her mind. How had Jafar known that Ariel was mute? Had Eric sent word of their arrival? That was impossible; both Jasmine and Ali were surprised to see her. Ariel pondered this as they reached the garden, however all thoughts of Jafar were banished from her mind as they walked into the garden, and Ariel's breath was taken from her by the beauty of the place.

There were green trees covering the border, and there was a great field of green grass. In front of the grass was a stone patio, and there was a marble fountain in the middle of the patio. To the side there was a white cage, and Ariel saw little white birds flipping from perch to perch inside of it. However, Ariel forgot all about the little birds when she saw who was waiting at the fountain.

Eric, and Ali.

Ariel's heart jumped when she saw the sailor prince she had fallen in love with, but she also was excited to see Ali as well. She was curious as to why this unknown Prince was so familiar to her.

Eric smiled when Ariel went up to him, and she bowed her head and smiled in response.

"Feel better?" Eric asked.

Ariel nodded shyly.

"I'm surprised, considering she just met Jafar." Jasmine said almost bitterly.

Eric winced. "He's still in your dad's employment?" He asked.

Jasmine nodded. "Unfortunately."

Eric turned to Ariel looking almost apologetic and humorous at the same time.

"I'm sorry you had to meet that guy, Jasmine and I used to joke that he probably ate puppies' hearts." Eric said, smiling.

Ariel laughed her soundless laugh, but on this inside, she felt a pang of jealousy. Eric had stories to tell of what exploits he and Jasmine had as kids. She and Eric had nothing like that. Ariel noticed that Ali's amused smile also looked forced, as if he, too, were thinking the same thing as Ariel. He looked over suddenly, and Ariel found herself staring into his dark brown eyes. She looked away, her cheeks burning, but Ariel had seen something in Ali's eyes that made curiosity bubble up inside of her.

Recognition.

Ali had recognized her, which meant that he, too, remembered meeting or seeing her at one time. Had she gone too close to shore while spying on humans? Did he remember a mermaid hiding under the docks or looking at a ship, or did he just remember a face, like she did?

Ariel's thoughts were interrupted, though, by Max, who had until then been quite docile. Max barked loudly, and Ariel heard a growl come from the doorway. She turned around, and to her surprise she saw Jasmine's alarmingly large cat, Raja. His beautiful fur was standing on end, and his golden eyes were looking murderously at the shaggy dog.

"Oh, no." Jasmine and Eric gasped at the same time, and Ariel herself was thinking the same thing.

Raja roared, and Max, it seems, all of a sudden decided to stop being brave and yelped and hid behind the thing closest to him.

Ariel.

Ariel gasped as Raja charged at her, and her instincts told her to swim, or run, but her new found feet failed, and she found herself rooted to the ground. Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the feeling of Raja pouncing on her, but she felt an arm hook around her waist and pull her out of the path of the tiger.

"Max! Get wet!" Eric called, and the dog splashed into the fountain. A great wave of water came splashing out of the fountain and onto Raja, and the cat made a kind of squeal and ran back in doors.

"Ariel, are you okay?" A voice asked.

Ariel turned around and to her surprise, she saw that her savior was none other than Ali.

Ariel managed a nod in response, despite her shock of nearly being cat's dinner and that it wasn't Eric who had saved her. Instead, her prince was tending to Max.

"That's really very nice of you, Eric. Apparently you care more about your dog than Ariel. Did you even notice that she was about to become tiger-food?" Jasmine asked coolly.

Eric looked up, surprise clear in his eyes.

"What?" He asked.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Eric, while you were so busy worrying about your mutt there, Ali here was saving Ariel from being Raja's lunch."

Eric's eyes opened wide and he immediately left Max where he was and ran over to Ariel.

"Are you alright? I'm so sorry; I didn't even know what was happening! Can you forgive me?" Eric pleaded.

Ariel looked up at him in surprise, the very thought that she wouldn't be able to forgive him was so absurd, that she laughed. She managed a nod through her fits of silent laughter, and she wiped a tear from her eye.

Eric smiled in relief and Ariel saw Jasmine and Ali smile, too.

"You're lucky she's such a forgiving person, Eric, and not someone who holds a grudge like me." Jasmine said wryly.

Eric shrugged. "Well, wherever she comes from, if the people there are anything like her, it must be a good place. Ariel, are all people like you at your home?" Eric asked.

Ariel's smile faded as she remembered her father's tempers, her sister's constant bickering, and the way no one understood why she was so in love with the human world. Ariel shook her head as the painful memories surfaced. No, they weren't anything like her, and they didn't know her, either. Not even Flounder or Urchin really knew why she loved the world above so much. No, there she was an outsider.

But here, she was, too.


	5. Past and Legend

Aladdin was stunned when he saw Raja at the doorway, growling and looking murderously at Eric's dog, Max. Aladdin's shock turned to fear and panic when Max hid behind the girl Eric planned to marry, the girl that struck a chord in Aladdin's memory, the girl that had no voice to say if she remembered him or not, the girl that seemed to be fascinated with everything around her.

Ariel.

Raja sprang at Ariel, and Aladdin saw to his horror that Eric was rooted to the spot, all of his worry on the dog, not the girl. Aladdin didn't know what was happening until he realized that his arm was around Ariel's waist, and that he was pulling her to safety. Eric still hadn't realized that Ariel had nearly been killed; he was calling out to his dog.

Once Raja had fled back inside do to the water splashing out of the fountain, Aladdin looked down at Ariel, and realized that he wasn't really looking _down_ at her as he was just looking _at_ her.

"Ariel, are you okay?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel turned around in surprise, and Aladdin found himself all of a sudden the focus of her big blue eyes. And when those eyes looked at him, Aladdin knew that his suspicions were true.

He _had_ met Ariel before, and she remembered it.

Ariel nodded, and for a moment, he thought that she had read his mind and was saying that they had indeed met, but then he remembered that she had been attacked by Raja.

It was also then that Aladdin realized he still had his arms around Ariel, and he quickly released her as Eric came running towards her. When Eric asked Ariel to forgive him, Aladdin was almost hoping that Ariel would be furious with him, like Jasmine was. If Eric was planning on marrying Ariel, he would have to pay better attention to her. Aladdin was learning that everyday with Jasmine. However, Ariel laughed, and nodded her head to show that she forgave him. Aladdin was amazed at how quickly Ariel forgave a mistake that almost cost her life. She must have really loved Eric, or she was brought up around people who were naturally forgiving.

"Ariel, are all people like you at your home?" Eric asked, almost taking the words out of Aladdin's mouth.

Aladdin saw the change in Ariel almost instantly. The wide smile on her face disappeared, and Aladdin saw the kind of pain that can only be caused by memories come into her eyes. Ariel shook her head glumly, and Aladdin thought for a moment that her eyes mirrored the sea on a cloudy day.

Aladdin wasn't the only one who noticed the shift in Ariel's mood, and Eric's smile faded as well.

"Oh, I'm . . . I'm sorry." Eric said.

Ariel shrugged her shoulders.

"That's really helping Eric," Jasmine scowled.

"What else do you want me to say?" Eric asked, exasperated.

"Something other than 'I'm sorry,'!" Jasmine said.

"I hear Jasmine bickering with someone. That must mean Eric's here!" A voice came, and Aladdin saw Jasmine's short, portly father come scurrying into the garden. He didn't run, he scurried like a tiny mouse. In fact, he looked like one. A little fat white mouse.

"Hello, Sultan." Eric said, the frustration of his quarrel with Jasmine gone from his face.

"Oh, Eric, it's wonderful to see you again!" The Sultan exclaimed, shaking Eric's hand vigorously.

Aladdin stole a glance at Ariel, and he saw to his amusement that she seemed light-hearted once more, and her bright blue eyes were twinkling with humor as she looked at the Sultan. Aladdin smiled, it was impossible not to smile while around the Sultan; he was always babbling and talking with him left you a bit confused and tired, but he still made you smile.

"Who's this young lady?" The Sultan asked, looking over at Ariel.

"This is Ariel, she's a friend of Eric's." Jasmine explained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." The Sultan said enthusiastically, shaking Ariel's hand eagerly. Ariel's smile grew broader, and Aladdin saw laughter twinkling in her eyes.

Once the Sultan finally stopped shaking Ariel's hand, he almost immediately got started talking again.

"I've just had an incredible idea! Right out of the blue! Why don't you four go out to the oasis for a sort of picnic? It'll be much cooler there than here, and it would be nice for you to have some time out of Agrabah. Actually I insist it! I'll have the cook make you up a basket, and I want you four out of Agrabah within the hour!"

While the cook was getting the food all ready and packed, Aladdin was doing some packing of his own. He carefully folded a rather unwilling Carpet into his backpack, and put the lamp on top of it. All the while, he told Genie of his encounter with Eric and Ariel.

"You're sure you've seen Ariel somewhere before?" Genie asked.

Aladdin nodded. "Positive, she's not someone who has a face that you could mix up with someone else. She looks so . . . different. It's the kind of face you'd remember."

"Why, is she ugly?" Genie asked.

"No! She's anything _but_ ugly. She's . . . why are you staring at me like that?" Aladdin asked suspiciously.

"Oh, no reason. It's just I remember seeing a look like that on your face before." Genie said, smiling.

"Really, when?" Aladdin asked almost eagerly. Maybe he had met Ariel after he found Genie.

"Oh . . . just when you were telling me about Jasmine . . ." Genie said, smiling.

Aladdin scowled. "That's no help,"

"Al, have you ever considered the fact that maybe you just _think_ that you remember Ariel?" Genie asked.

Aladdin shook his head. "No, she remembers me too."

"How do you know?" Genie asked.

"I just know," Aladdin said irritably.

"It wouldn't happen to do anything with her eyes, would it?" Genie asked.

"No!" Aladdin said guiltily.

"Al, do you find Ariel pretty?" Genie asked.

"Just a little," Aladdin murmured, looking down at his feet.

Genie sighed. "Al? Are you sure that you've met Ariel before?" Genie asked.

Aladdin looked at Genie irritably. "You already asked that. Yes, I'm sure."

Genie sighed again. "Sorry, Al. I just want to make sure that you don't end up making a mistake."

Aladdin looked up at Genie, an irritated comment about to come out of his mouth, but Jasmine's voice stopped him.

"Ali! We're ready to go!" Jasmine called.

"Coming!" Aladdin called.

Genie sighed. "Back to my closet," he said bitterly before he disappeared into the lamp.

Aladdin tied his sack closed, swung it over his shoulder and opened the door and saw Jasmine waiting there, holding a basket which inevitably contained the food for the picnic. Jasmine smiled at Aladdin, and Aladdin smiled back.

"Come on, Eric and Ariel are waiting at the gate." Jasmine said, taking Aladdin's hand and pulled him to the gate that separated the village from the palace. Eric was waiting there, but Ariel was no where around.

"Where's Ariel?" Jasmine asked.

Eric shrugged his shoulders as he looked around, scratching his head in confusion.

"I don't know; she was here a moment ago." Eric said.

"You lost her?" Jasmine asked incredulously.

"I didn't lose her! I just don't know where she is." Eric said defensively.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You are the only person I know, Eric, who can lose a person."

Aladdin looked around, and he saw the door to Abu's personal stable open, and he smiled.

"I think I know where she is," Aladdin said, gesturing for them to follow him. He led them into Abu's stable, and sure enough, there was Ariel. She was looking up in wonder at the elephant standing before her. Abu was looking down at the red-head in confusion and alarm. Ariel reached out a pale hand and she put it on Abu's trunk. Aladdin expected Abu to panic and crush Ariel, but Abu remained calm as Ariel stroked his trunk.

"I didn't know you had an elephant." Eric commented to Jasmine.

"I don't, its Ali's." Jasmine said.

"I'm surprised that Ab – that he isn't panicking. Normally he only lets me touch him." Aladdin said in mild surprise.

Everyone let out a yelp of surprise as Abu released his trunk from Ariel's stroking hand and wrapped it around her waist. Abu hoisted Ariel into the air and placed her gently onto his back. Ariel's eyes were wide not with fear, but with excitement and wonder. Her mouth opened and made the motion of laughing, but of course no sound was heard from her.

Aladdin smiled. "I think we just found our ride to the oasis."

* * *

Once Ariel had gotten off the giant horse, some servants came at Jasmine's call and put a sort of tent on top of the giant horse. They then led the horse to stand next to a sort of balcony, onto which Eric, Ali, Jasmine, and Ariel had climbed onto. They boarded the giant horse there. They were now sitting on top of the giant horse, shielded from the intense sun by the canopy, and they were moving at a steady pace towards the oasis.

"You must come from a rich family to be able to afford an elephant." Eric said to Ali.

Ariel silently wondered what an "elephant" was, and she had decided to call the giant horse a ginormajigger.

"Oh, yes, my family is . . uhhh . . . very rich indeed." Ali said nervously.

Jasmine giggled. "Ali doesn't like talking about his family."

"Not in the slightest," Ali murmured.

"What's your family like, Ariel?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel looked up from her wondering, and she looked back onto her sisters. She remembered Atina's bossiness, Aquata and Arista's constent bickerings, Adella's . . . Adella-ness, and how appearance oriented all of her sisters were. They may not have always understood her, but they at least provided the sense that you weren't al alone – physically – and they were very entertaining at times. She smiled as she remembered these things, and made the crazy sign by way of answer.

Jasmine giggled. "Which part of your family?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel thought of how to answer, and her almost painful pensive look made Jasmine speak again.

"How about I guess? Father?" She asked.

Ariel shook her head, her father may have been strict, but he wasn't crazy.

"Brothers?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel held up her thumb and pointer finger a little ways apart.

"Close? Sisters?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel nodded.

"How many did you have?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel held up six fingers.

"_Six?!_ My gosh! That's quite a big family. Were you the eldest?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel shook her head, smiling. She held her arms far apart.

"_Definitely_ not the eldest? The youngest?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel nodded again.

Eric looked at Jasmine admiringly. "You can interpret her better than I can."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You should try paying attention; that helps." She said sarcastically.

"What was your home like?" Ali asked, coughing.

Ariel smiled at him, and she thought for a moment. She then pointed to the passing scenery, and spread her arms out so wide that she nearly lost her balance.

"I take it your home is very different from Agrabah then?" Aladdin said, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

Ariel smiled again, and nodded her head vigorously.

"That probably explains your pale skin. You don't look like somebody who grew up in the sun." Jasmine said.

Ariel smiled, and shook her head. She was born in the blue glow of the ocean.

"Was it cold there?" Jasmine asked.

Ariel thought for a moment, and then licked her finger.

Jasmine, Ali, and Eric burst out laughing.

"Wet?" Ali guessed.

Ariel nodded.

"Well, I'm sure that it wasn't boring there if you were there." Jasmine said.

Ariel ducked her head, smiling, but she couldn't help notice that Ali had suddenly stopped being so . . . not there. He must have been as uncomfortable as she, being a stranger amongst strange people. He must – like her – be adjusting to his surroundings.

Ariel looked up at Ali, and pointed to him.

"What about me?" He asked, alarmed.

Ariel pointed to their surroundings, hoping he would understand.

"Do I like Agrabah?" He asked.

Ariel shook her head, and pointed back to the palace instead.

"Do I like the palace?" Ali guessed again.

Ariel shook her head, and pointed at the palace again, then up at the canopy above them.

"Oh, no, the canopy came with Ab-the elephant." He said, stuttering.

Ariel smacked her forehead in frustration, she felt like he was deliberately trying not to understand her!

"What?" Ali asked.

Ariel sighed and waved her hand. It wasn't worth the effort. Ali must not have wanted to talk about his home.

Eric chuckled. "Ariel really must not be used to the heat, she's so curious that she normally doesn't stop trying to ask a question until she gets an answer."

Ariel couldn't be sure, but it looked like Ali sighed in relief.

"I can see the oasis, Your Highness!" Called the servant who was driving the enourmajigger.

"Perfect! It'll be good to get down onto solid ground." Jasmine said.

Ariel smiled in agreement, riding on the ginormajigger had been fun, but she had been sitting in such an uncomfortable position, that she was starting to lose the feeling in her new legs.

* * *

Once they had gotten off of Abu, the four left the servants and Abu to amuse each other, and they went on their own deeper into the oasis. They soon came upon a green glade that was alongside a river. Along with the smell of the oasis, there was a slight hint of salt that revealed they were close to the sea. Aladdin saw Ariel inhale the scent deeply, and let out a wistful sigh. She smiled broadly, and looked around at her surroundings with admiration.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Aladdin asked, going up to her.

Ariel looked at him, smiling, and nodded. Then, without warning, she ran at a tree and began to climb it with extraordinary agility. What Aladdin found most interesting, though, was that she refused to use her feet, and was climbing purely with arm-strength.

"Don't like using your feet for climbing, huh?" Aladdin asked jokingly.

Ariel looked down at him, smiled, shrugged – which Aladdin found very impressive, considering that she was holding herself upright wither arms – and she continued climbing.

Ariel then stopped climbing, and settled on a branch. She leaned a bit to her right, and Aladdin saw the reason for her exploration. Perched on the branch was what appeared to be a brightly colored bird that was almost identical to Iago. The only difference was that it's feathers were more varied in color, and the tail was longer and grander. Ariel leaned out to try and touch the bird, but it gave a squawk and flew off. The bird's long tail hit Ariel in the face, and a good portion of it's feathers fell off. A startled Ariel tried to get the tail-feathers off of her face, and in the process lost her balance and fell off of the branch. Aladdin nearly pulled Carpet out of his bag, but Ariel fell into the safety of two branches. She looked a little startled, but then she slumped and blew her bangs out of her eyes. Her reaction surprised Aladdin so much, that he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny, Ali?" Jasmine asked, coming over to Aladdin's side.

"N-Nothing," Aladdin said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"How'd you get all the way up there?" Jasmine asked, looking up at the slouching Ariel.

Ariel shrugged, and decided that it was time for her to get out of the tree. She used her arms and pushed herself up with such a force that she propelled herself foreword, and she threw her arms out in front of her onto another branch. She then gently lowered herself until her feet were just above a sturdy branch. She let go of the branch, and she landed on the other branch. She waved her arms a bit to regain her balance, but she soon was standing firmly.

"What's going on over here?" Eric asked, coming over to join them. He looked up at Ariel, and burst out laughing.

"Like the view up there?" Eric asked.

Ariel smiled down at him, and jumped down onto the branch below her.

"Be careful! Some of those branches don't look so safe!" Eric warned.

"Relax, Eric, she's been doing pretty well so far." Jasmine said.

However, Aladdin took his satchel off of his shoulder, and opened it slightly, leaving an open pathway for Carpet, should Ariel fall.

The red-head jumped down to the next branch, and the next, until she was almost down. However, on her next jump, Ariel slipped. She threw her arms out as she tried to regain her balance, but she still fell backwards. With a signal from Aladdin, Carpet flew out of the bag in time to catch her. Ariel looked a bit dazed and startled, and she looked down in wonder at the carpet beneath her.

Jasmine smiled at Aladdin. "I was wondering when you were going reveal Carpet." She said.

Carpet gently brought Ariel down, and he tilted himself so that Ariel slid off of him. Ariel landed softly on her feet, and she turned around to stare at the flying carpet.

"It's a magic carpet," Aladdin explained to Eric and Ariel.

Eric stood dumbstruck, and Ariel smiled, delighted, at Carpet. She pat him on the head, and Carpet – in response – flew around her much like he did when he first met Aladdin. Ariel laughed and smiled broadly.

"Isn't a flying carpet one of the myths around here?" Eric asked.

"Not anymore." Jasmine said, smiling.

"I wonder if all myths are true. What are those spirits that are trapped in bottles? Genies?" Eric asked.

Aladdin froze, and Jasmine laughed. "Now _that's_ impossible!" She said.

"What are some of the myths like where you come from?" Aladdin asked.

Eric chuckled. "All of the myths come from the sailors." He said.

"So I guess you know all about them," Jasmine said wryly.

"They're all about the Ruler of the Sea – King Triton, and the merpeople he rules over. He supposedly has seven daughters that could enchant a whole country with their voices combined."

"Seven daughters, huh? Ariel, you and your sisters wouldn't happen to be the daughters of Triton, would they?" Jasmine asked jokingly.

Ariel laughed, but Aladdin caught a hint of uneasiness behind her eyes so well hidden, that only a fellow deceiver could detect it.

Aladdin frowned, wondering what such an innocent joke could mean to Ariel.

"You just keep on getting more and more confusing," he murmured.

* * *

"I wonder if all myths are true. What are those spirits that are trapped in bottles? Genies?" Eric asked.

'_A spirit trapped in a bottle? What silly superstitions these humans have,'_ Ariel thought fondly. It was then that she noticed Ali's eyes widen, and his whole body tense. She saw the wariness, and fear in his eyes, as if the myth of the Genie meant something to him.

'_How odd you are,'_ Ariel thought.

**HA! I JUST realized how many freakin line breaks I put into this chapter! Hope you like this chapter! I think it's the longest one yet, but I could be wrong. I'll be coming out with the next chapter soon! And yes, I've said the word "chapter" in every single sentence. R&R!**

**~FantasticMysticalWonder**


	6. Memories and Conclusions

The picnic was had without much trouble, and the whole thing was quite lovely. Many comments were made on Ariel's climbing excursion, and there was a great deal of laughter happiness.

During the picnic, Jasmine and Eric spent a good amount of time reminiscing moments from their childhood, and Ali and Ariel – being the outsiders here – slowly gravitated to each other, feeling a bit left out of the conversation and wanting to lessen that feeling. However, the two had not even realized that they were sitting next to each other until they had bumped heads. Jasmine and Eric – still lost in memory lane – didn't notice or stop their conversation.

"Oh, hello," Ali said awkwardly, rubbing his head where it had collided with Ariel's.

Ariel gave Ali a slight wave, also rubbing her sore head. Boy was she glad that mermaids didn't have softer sculls than humans, or that could have been a whole lot worse.

"So . . ." Ali began, his embarrassment clear in his voice and face. It was always hard to start a conversation with someone you barely knew, and Ariel pitied him. She would have started it off herself were she not mute.

"Have you ever been to Agrabah before?" Ali asked, seeming relieved to have found a topic of conversation.

Ariel thought on this. She'd never been in the city before, but Atlantica – as a part of its defenses – moved every decade or so. It's possible that its last location had been near Agrabah (which would explain why Ariel wouldn't remember, the last time Atlantica had moved was when she was six, and her years five to about fourteen were all a blur due to the death of her mother, the drastic change in her father, and the overall boringness that had occupied her life for those nine years.) So, in response, Ariel merely shrugged.

Ali's brow furrowed. "You don't know?"

Ariel nodded.

Ali frowned pensively, and Ariel thought she detected a bit of disappointment in his eyes.

"Huh," was Ali's only response.

Almost unconsciously, both blew the bangs out of their eyes in frustration, and then ran a hand through their hair – except Ali took his turban off, first.

As Ariel looked at Ali, she noticed that he looked more familiar with his messy hair exposed, and it quite nearly solidified Ariel's suspicion that she had met Ali before. But how to know for sure? She surely couldn't ask him, even if she had her voice. You just couldn't go up to someone and say "Hi! Nice to meet you! Hey, you look really familiar, but I don't seem to recall the place or time of which we met. Or, in fact, any details of that meeting! Do you think you could help me out Complete Stranger?"

Ariel sighed in frustration, but then, an idea popped into her head. If she had indeed met Ali, it was quite possible that he remembered her too – but not as a human. He would only remember a mermaid, or a girl who refused to leave the water. But – again – she couldn't ask him if he'd ever met a mermaid, he'd think she was crazy! But, she could try and unlock those memories herself. . . .

A plan having already formed, Ariel looked behind her at the stream. It was literally right behind her, and there was no danger of her being swept away by the current. So, casually, Ariel leaned back . . . and fell into the stream.

There – of course – was a great splash, and Ali came rushing over and looked down at Ariel in amazement. Ariel knew she looked a mess – she was probably covered in mud, and her clothes were sopping wet . . . and so was her hair. If Ali had any memory of Ariel, she would almost certainly have had wet hair. Discreetly, so he wouldn't notice, Ariel observed Ali's eyes, and noticed the thing that she had been hoping to see.

Remembrance.

Ali did remember her! And just like she noticed it more when his hair showed, he noticed it more when she was covered in water. And, she could also be fairly certain that Ali knew no more about that meeting than she did. They were both floundering in trying to remember the other. It was relieving to Ariel that she wasn't just imagining things, but then a thought came, a thought that took away all of the glee that came with realizing that Ali remembered her too.

What if he remembered that she was a mermaid? Worse, what if he told Eric? That would almost confirm to the prince that Ariel had saved his life, but it also might take away any attraction or love he might be feeling for Ariel. He was a human, she was a mermaid. She had given up her tail in hoping of winning Eric's heart, but if he realized that she had been born a non-human, he might turn away from her. He might be disgusted, or angry at her for keeping it a secret. Either way, she wouldn't get her kiss of true love, and she would belong to Ursula, forever.

Now, she had to make sure that Ali _didn't_ remember her!

* * *

Ali had been lost in thought; musing over the fact that Ariel wasn't sure of whether or not she had been to Agrabah before when he heard the splash.

Jumping in surprise, Aladdin realized that Ariel had disappeared, but found her by the suspicious patch of red that appeared by the stream bank. Looking down, Aladdin saw a sheepish-looking Ariel sitting in the stream. She was sopping wet, and her dress – though thankfully not see-through – was starting to cling to her – causing Aladdin to avert his eyes to Ariel's face, which caused a memory to stir in Aladdin's mind. Ariel's red hair, darkened by the wetness and sticking to her face and neck made Ariel seem even more familiar. So, Aladdin had obviously met Ariel when she was wet. That left either in the bath house or the ocean as the meeting place. Eric had mentioned that he had found Ariel on the beach in a ship sale, so that gave the impression that she was ship wrecked. Maybe Ariel's father had been a merchant, or a ship's captain – some sort of trade that kept him and his family on a boat most of the time. And that would explain how Ariel seemed so much more . . . happy, in the oasis – it was right on the brink of the ocean – and also Ariel's description of her home. "Wet" and "Very different from Agrabah" certainly described the life at sea. But it didn't describe Ariel's pallor. Eric spent most of his time at sea, and he was tanned from that. Ariel looked like she spent most of her time inside. It just didn't add up.

Aladdin decided to save that headache for another day, and proceeded to help Ariel up out of the water.

"Here, give me your hand," Aladdin said, holding out said hand.

Ariel looked up at Aladdin, and obediently put her smaller, more slender and pale hand in Aladdin's. Tightening his grip, Aladdin gently pulled Ariel out of the water, and found himself face to face with her. Almost entranced by her big blue eyes, Aladdin took a step backwards, and the tension that had been there evaporated slightly.

Ariel smiled apologetically at Aladdin, and stood there rather awkwardly. It was then that he noticed that Ariel was still sopping wet, and then took off his cape and draped it around Ariel. She smiled gratefully at him, and then averted her eyes to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded.

"Ali! There you are! What happened to Ariel?" Jasmine asked, rushing over to him. She was soon followed by Eric, who went immediately to Ariel's side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and asking after her welfare. Aladdin felt that twinge of jealousy, but doused it and looked down at Jasmine.

"Ariel fell in the stream," Aladdin explained.

"She seems to do a lot of falling, doesn't she?" Jasmine asked, laughing.

Aladdin smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, it's like she isn't used to her own legs."

Jasmine laughed, and so did Aladdin, but he couldn't help but think on what he'd just said. Not used to her own legs . . . now why did _that_ stir his memory as well?"

* * *

Ariel started tingling like mad when Eric put his arm around her. And when he started asking if she was okay, her heart started to swell. He cared! He cared about her! Maybe she would get that kiss in time after all!

"You're sure you're okay?" Eric asked, his eyes filled with worry.

Ariel smiled up at him and nodded.

Eric sighed in relief. "Good, I wouldn't forgive myself if you were hurt." And right there, Eric hugged Ariel.

She thought she would fly off to the skies, she was so happy! Kissing was just one step away from hugging, so it must be coming soon! She felt that same electric shock down her spine as Eric's arms encircled her, and she couldn't help but briefly remember the same electric shock when Ali had taken her hand . . . but that was probably an actually shock. That happened a lot in the dry air, right? Well, it couldn't have been the same as when Eric touched her. After all, she loved Eric, and that was why she felt so ecstatic whenever they made contact. So, it had to be an actual static shock when she held Ali's hand for that brief moment. Though she certainly found him attractive and kind and sweet, she loved Eric. She was just drawn to Ali because he seemed familiar.

That's all it was.

Little did Ariel know, but inside Ali's mind, he had just come to the same conclusion.

_Okay, sorry if this is a little cheesy, but don't worry! The good actiony stuff is going to be coming up soon! Let's just say that our villain(s) are going to be making appearances, more discoveries will be made, and of course there's going to be some cute Ariel/Aladdin fluff, because I just love them! Sorry to all of you Ariel/Eric and Jasmine/Aladdin lovers out there! I just never liked Eric much! I think he's a bit boring! And how many times have I used exclamation points in this paragraph? Haha! _

_~FantasticMisticalWonder _


	7. Almost

Okay, so I'd like to say before I start that this chapter is thanks to TORRMENTED, who helped me sorta come up with the idea for the plot of this chapter. Thanks a bunch!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wish I did, because then I really would make a Disney Crossover movie, and I wouldn't be writing it on here. :D All rights belong to their original owners, so everything's Disney's. I don't pretend to own Disney, because I'd get arrested. This is just me messing around with their stories.

* * *

He was going to see her, tonight. He finally was going to get to the bottom of these memories that refused to surface. He was going to find out why a mysterious red-headed girl with no voice seemed so painfully familiar to him. He was going to remember what he only had an inkling of. He would find out why Ariel was so familiar.

"Al, listen to me, this is a bad idea!" Genie said for the thousandth time.

"You can't stop me," Aladdin said, adjusting his turban in the mirror.

"Think of Jasmine!" Genie said.

"I am! And I can't devote all of my attention to her until I find out why Ariel is so familiar to me." Aladdin said.

"So? You're about to marry the girl of your dreams: you won't even care about Ariel in a couple of days. This whole thing will pass by soon. Ariel will just be another forgotten memory." Genie said.

"That's all she is right now!" Aladdin exclaimed.

Genie sighed and put one of his giant blue hands on his master's shoulder.

"Al . . ."

"Genie, you've got to understand: I won't be able to rest until I know where I've seen her from." Aladdin said, looking up at the djinn.

Genie sighed. "I know, Al, I just want to make sure that you don't make a mistake."

"We all make mistakes, Genie," Aladdin said.

"But this one could cost you your marriage." Genie warned.

Aladdin sighed. "I'm sorry Genie; I'm just really confused right now."

Genie smiled. "I know, Al, I know. Now, I want you to go and solve the mystery of the red-head."

Aladdin looked up at Genie and smiled. "Thanks, Genie." And then, Aladdin took Carpet and ran out of his room.

Genie smiled after the boy, and then sighed. "Be careful, kid."

* * *

Ariel sat in her room, brushing her hair with the dingelhopper, sighing. One day left. One day to get the kiss. One day until she either was a human forever, or Ursula's forever. Whichever option she chose, she would never see her Father or sisters again. The prospect made Ariel feel a rush of homesickness, but to keep herself out of that sadness, Ariel reminded herself that she never truly belonged there. No one really understood her. She had friends like Flounder, Urchin, and Gabriella, but even they found her a bit odd. And Ariel also had a suspicion that Urchin had a crush on her, too. But Ariel shrugged that away, and continued to brush out the tangles and knots her hair had accumulated during the day. One thing she didn't like about being on land was that hair was so much harder to brush when dry. It always glided through the comb underwater. Now it was like playing a game of tug-of-war with a rock.

"Ariel! Ariel! There ya are! Ya can't leav me in dere all day. It's killin me!" Sebastian gasped as he climbed out of Ariel's pocket. Ariel looked down at the crab, smiled, and gently picked him up and placed him on her bedside table.

"What were ya thinkin? Leavin me in dat death-trap all day? Were ya tryin to turn me into a fried crab?" Sebastian asked.

Ariel merely smiled apologetically and took her face-wash basin, poured some fresh water into it from the pitcher, and placed it down by the red crab.

"Tank you," Sebastian said curtly before diving headfirst into the bowl.

"Ahhh . . . dat's better," Sebastian sighed.

Ariel smiled, and continued to brush her hair. She walked out to the balcony and looked up at the Arabian night sky, full of twinkling lights. Eric had called them stars. Stars. Such beautiful things they were. There had been many things of beauty under the sea in Atlantica, but nothing quite like this. Nothing as amazing as the thousands of tiny lights.

Ariel sighed, and she leaned on the edge of the balcony as she looked up at the sky, and she averted her gaze from the stars to the giant white orb, floating amongst the tiny stars. The moon. Though Ariel loved the sun and the warmth its rays brought her, there was something about the moon that she found enticing. How she could look at it without being blinded – unlike the sun – and how it sometimes disappeared – according to Eric, at least. He called it the "cycle of the moon." Perhaps it also had to do with the fact that the moon wasn't like her death sentence. Perhaps it was because the setting of the moon didn't mean getting closer to possible eternal servitude. Or perhaps it was the mystery that surrounded it. The way it seemed to almost take pleasure in being a little bit strange, in being the exact opposite of the sun. It was an enigma, a puzzle.

"Psst! Ariel!" A voice whispered.

Ariel jumped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. That was strange, she didn't see anyone there.

"Ariel!" The voice whispered a bit more urgently.

Once more, Ariel looked around, but saw no one.

"Down here!" The voice said.

Ariel looked over the ledge of the balcony, and saw – to her surprise – Prince Ali, standing on his flying carpet, waving at her. Ariel stared down at him, and was trying to think of a way to ask him what he was doing, when a knocking on her door interrupted her. Ariel looked down at Ali, put a finger to her lips, and turned around to look at Sebastian, motioning for him to hide. Sebastian scuttled out of the basin and rushed underneath Ariel's bed. Ariel straightened her dress, and walked calmly over to the door before opening it. To her delight, Ariel found Eric standing at her door. He seemed a bit embarrassed to find her in her nightclothes, but he appeared to forget it.

"Hello Ariel! I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said apologetically.

Ariel smiled and shook her head, gesturing for him to enter.

Eric smiled at her and complied.

"I hope you like your room," Eric said.

Ariel nodded.

"Jasmine always strives to make sure that everything's perfect, I used to tease her about it when we were little." Eric said, smiling at the memory.

Ariel also smiled, but she felt like something was tugging at her heart-strings. Jasmine. It seemed like that was all that was on Eric's mind recently. Not that she resented Jasmine in any way: in fact, she was quite fond of the Arabian princess. She just wished that something else would capture Ali's attention.

Mentally, Ariel shook her head – in fact, she so surprised herself with that last thought, that she almost did it physically – Eric, darn it, Eric. That's who she was thinking about. Ariel almost sighed when she realized that her annoyance with Eric was almost hypocritical, considering that nearly all of her thoughts were focused on Prince Ali. And Eric also had good reason: she was his best friend in his child-hood, he hadn't seen her in years, and she was getting married. It wasn't like he was some love-sick fool. And neither was she. Ariel, I mean, with Ali. She was just trying to figure him out, trying to uncover the deeply-buried memories she had of him. And Ariel guessed that Ali was too, considering that he was under her balcony . . .

Fish paste! Ali was still under her balcony! She had to keep Eric away from there, or he'd see him, and that wouldn't be good. Of course the worst would be assumed, Eric would think they were secretly seeing each other, Ali's marriage with Jasmine would be totaled, Ariel's chances with Eric would be thrown down the tide-pool, and Ariel would belong to Ursula, probably as one of those demonic plants she had in her "garden." Ariel almost shuddered at the thought. She had to keep Eric away from the balcony.

But of course, Fate decided to laugh at Ariel's worries, and decided to lead Eric right to the place she was trying to keep him from.

"Wow, the sky is really beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Eric asked, walking out to the balcony.

Ariel smacked her forehead, and glared up at the sky, as if the stars were to blame.

"I'd forgotten how magical Arabian nights can be." Eric said, almost in awe.

"It's even more spectacular than out at sea, isn't it?" Eric asked, turning to Ariel.

She pasted a smile on her face, and nodded.

Eric seemed to notice that Ariel's smile wasn't genuine – and he frowned, a worry-line creasing on his brow.

"Are you alright, you don't seem well." Eric asked, concern clear in his voice.

Sensing an opportunity, Ariel put on her best sick-face, clutching her stomach and trying to look as pitiful as possible. She silently moaned, overdramatizing things a bit. But Ariel saw the alarm in Eric's eyes, and she couldn't help but feel a little triumphant.

_That's right, now just step away from the balcony and back into my room._ Ariel silently called.

But Fate once more decided to mess with Ariel.

"Oh dear! The heat must be getting to you. Come here: it's much cooler outside." Eric said, gently putting his arm around Ariel's shoulders and guiding her out again to the balcony.

Ariel could have screamed in frustration had she a voice, and she probably would have banged her head against the balcony. Hard. Repeatedly. Someone out there had it in for her, she knew it.

"There, that better?" Eric asked, looking down at Ariel.

Ariel looked up at Eric, and once more put on a fake smile.

Eric – not seeing through the lie this time – smiled back in relief. "Good, you had me worried there. I was worried you'd pass out, or worse." Eric said, genuine concern in his voice.

Ariel looked up at him, and smiled for real this time. She never could stay mad at him for long. He just was like that, her Ali . . .

Eric! Get it right, dang, Eric! Not Ali, Eric Eric Eric. Why did she keep messing this up? Thinking about Eric instead of Ali – I mean, oh Neptune . . .

Ariel almost cried out in frustration: what was wrong with her? This was nothing more than a simple infatuation: a little mermgirl crush even. It would all blow over in a few days once Ali and Jasmine were married and she and Eric were going down that road – or aisle – as well. If she got to see the next couple of days . . .

Dang it, someone really must have had it out for her. And they must have really, really hated her. As in, plotting humiliation, depression, and murder kind of hate. Neptune protect her . . .

"You sure you're okay?" Eric asked, looking down at Ariel for confirmation.

Ariel smiled up at Eric and nodded.

Eric sighed in relief. "Good," he said. Then, his eyes almost grew misty, and he gently pushed a stray lock of red-hair behind Ariel's ear. She felt her heart-beat increase as he then cupped her cheek in his hand, his midnight eyes fixed on her sapphire-blue ones. He slowly leaned closer to her, and Ariel closed her eyes, her stomach doing flips, when there was the sound of a stone falling below. The trance was broken, and as Eric turned around to see where the disturbance came from, Ariel looked up at the heavens, a silent "why" on her lips. However, Ariel then realized that Eric was looking down, where Ali was hiding, and looked down in alarm. She saw no Ali. Ariel sighed in relief: he must have realized that he was in danger of being found, and either left or hidden further under her balcony.

Eric looked back at Ariel, and she smiled at him. Eric stepped up to her, looking back down at the red-head, and Ariel felt her stomach do flips again. Was this her second chance?

"I'd better get going," Eric said quickly, walking with purpose to her door. Right before he closed it, he turned to look at Ariel.

"Sweet dreams," he said, and then he closed her door.

Ariel stood on the balcony in shock, and she wanted to scream and cry in frustration. She was this close? She almost got that kiss! Did the Powers That Be _enjoy_ torturing her?

"That was a close one, huh?" a voice asked.

Ariel jumped and spun around, finding herself face-to-face with Prince Ali. Neptune, she had hoped that he'd left! Not that she didn't enjoy his company, but she was pretty sure it was considered improper for a man about to be wed to be visiting another woman in the dead of night. That, and Ariel really wasn't in a good mood right now.

So, Ariel crosser her arms and arched one of her eyebrows, hoping that her body-language would convey the message.

Ali shifted a bit on the carpet. "Yeah, you're probably wondering why I'm here . . ."

Ariel felt a smile twitch on the edge of her lips at Ali's discomfort.

"Well, you see . . ." Ali began again.

Ariel lifted both her eyebrows this time, trying to say _'go on'._

"Well . . . . um . . .Allah," Ali swore under his breath.

Ariel suppressed a giggle. It seems that he didn't think this all the way through.

"Um . . . uh . . . . there's a very logical explanation for this!" Ali said.

This time, Ariel did smile. Genuinely and fully, right to her eyes.

However, this seemed to only make Ali more uncomfortable. "Uhh . . . wasn't that kinda rude of Eric?" Ali asked.

Ariel was jerked out of her current humor, and looked at Ali, a little surprised.

"I mean, leaving so suddenly and all." Ali said.

Ariel would have defended Eric had she a voice, but her muteness prevented her from doing so, and she was forced to reflect on what Ali had said. It had been a little rude, but he was probably uncomfortable.

"He probably had some reason and all, but still," Ali said.

And this time, Ariel was forced to agree, and she nodded.

"Oh great! So, I'm not just making up things: there really is fault in that guy!" Ali said, a smile starting to break out on his face.

Ariel, too, smiled, and she nodded. Yes, there was some fault in him.

There was a moment of complete silence, where Ali and Ariel just smiled at each other, but Ali seemed to realize what was happening, and he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"So, uh, you finding everything to your liking? Your room, I mean." Ali said, and in the glow of the candlelight, Ariel could see a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

Ariel nodded, smiling. Hadn't he just heard her conversation with Eric? The sea-faring prince had asked the same question.

Ali nodded. "Good, good."

There was a period of awkward silence, and Ariel considered asking Ali why he was here again, but it appeared that even he didn't quite know, and she didn't want to pressure him.

But, Ali decided to breach the subject – without letting her know that this _was_ the subject – anyway.

"Hey, Ariel?" Ali asked.

Ariel looked up at Ali.

"Have – have you ever had that feeling that you've met someone before? Or at least seen them?" Ali asked.

Ariel nodded warily. She still remembered the little pact she had made with herself earlier that day – to make sure that Ali didn't remember her. Or, at least, remember that she was a mermaid.

"And, you know how that feeling nags at you, and you feel like you can't rest until you remember what it is you're trying to remember?" Ali asked, growing more confident in his words.

Once more, Ariel nodded.

"Well – Ariel – I can't help but feel like I've, like I've met you before." Ali said, seeming relieved to have gotten that out of the way.

And Ariel again nodded, trying to convey that she, too, remembered Ali. There was no harm in letting him know that he wasn't imagining things, but she just had to be wary of letting him remember too much – such as a green tail.

"So, you do remember me?" Ali asked, hope glinting in his eyes.

And Ariel couldn't help but smile as she nodded.

Ali sighed in relief. "Good, for a moment there I thought I was going crazy!"

And Ariel shook her head to say that he wasn't crazy, then paused to think about it, and then spread her pointer finger and thumb a little ways apart.

Ali laughed. "Well, we're all a bit crazy when we think about it."

Ariel silently laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

Ali and Ariel stood there, smiling and laughing with each other, when Ali once more coughed in embarrassment.

"Well, it's getting late, I'd better get back to my room," Ali said, looking down at his feet.

Ariel nodded.

"It was nice talking with you." Ali said, looking back up at Ariel and giving her a small smile.

Ariel returned it, and nodded.

"Goodnight," Ali said before flying away on his carpet.

Ariel stood there leaning on her balcony, looking after Ali, a smile lingering on her face. He was so different from Eric. Eric made Ariel feel like a giddy teenage girl – which she was – but Ali, he just made her feel like . . . like she belonged. Of course, she was in love with Eric and not Ali, so that probably had something to do with it as well.

Ariel sighed and looked back up at the stars. She had previously looked up at them, cursing them for ruining her chances of getting the kiss from Eric, but now, she thanked them. She thanked them for her rapidly growing friendship with Prince Ali.

However, what Ariel didn't know, was that her friendship with Ali was growing a bit too rapidly.

* * *

Back in his chambers, Eric stood on his balcony, facing the Arabian Desert. He played a haunting tune on his flute, the tune that the mystery girl had sung to him. He put the flute down and sighed. What was he doing? He had already made up his mind about choosing Ariel over the girl who saved him, and yet her voice still haunted him. But then why was he so reluctant to get close to the red-head? Was it because he was still infatuated with his mystery girl? Eric sighed and threw away his flute in frustration. He had to stop thinking about her!

Eric turned around, determined to walk straight back into his room and fall asleep – leaving all thoughts of the girl with the voice behind him, when he heard something. A ghostly melody carried by the wind. Could it be . . . . naw, how could she have followed him all the way from his kingdom? It just wasn't possible. But still, Eric turned around and leaned over his balcony to get a better look.

There she was: an extraordinarily beautiful woman with long dark locks singing the song that had given the Prince many restless nights. Eric wanted to turn away from the woman, he wanted to go back and find Ariel. He wanted to completely forget about the girl who had saved his life, but something kept him rooted to the ground. And soon, Eric completely forgot about his desire to marry Ariel. All he could think about, was the girl, walking down through the garden, singing a mournful tune.

After all, isn't it natural for your thoughts to be captured by the one you love?

* * *

_Dun dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuun! That's right! I left you with a cliffy! Haha! I_ _will update soon, but I've got three other stories to catch up on, so be patient my pretties! Haha! I sounded like the Witch of the West there for a second! I'm turning Wicked! Haha! Ooh? Do I see a patch of green skin? I know, I'm weird. Again, will update soon!_

_~FantasticMisticalWonder(FMW, or Wonder) _


	8. Broken

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Seriously. I'm not lying. Disney owns everything, because Disney is the King of the movie business right now. Disney owns EVERYTHING! Well, everything in this story, at least. Unless I decide to add some sort of dialogue from a TV show or movie or something, then I'll tell you who that belongs to. But, as of right now, Disney owns everything. I just snuck into their famous Disney vault and messed up the scripts of the Little Mermaid and Aladdin to bring you this. :D Just kidding. I didn't do that, I'm too broke to go to Hollywood. Crap, I'm going to be arrested for making that joke now, aren't I?

* * *

_It felt so good to be up on the surface, lounging in the warm glow of the sun. Her tail lay on the side of the rock as she absentmindedly brushed out her long red locks with the dinglehopper. A part of Ariel's brain knew she was dreaming, and chastised her imagination for creating so cliché a scene, but that part was barely a whisper, and the part of Ariel that was in the dream didn't even hear the aware part. _

"_It's you, it's really you!" A voice cried._

_Ariel turned around, and Eric was there, running along the beach to her. The logical part of Ariel was wondering how a beach had appeared in the middle of the ocean, but once more that part was barely heard. Ariel smiled in joy as Eric approached, and she wrapped her arms around him as he embraced her, spinning her around._

"_I knew I'd find you," Eric mumbled into Ariel's hair._

_Ariel only hugged Eric tighter, the joy spreading through her._

"_I love you," Eric whispered._

_Ariel's heart flipped, but Eric pulled away from Ariel and frowned._

"_Aren't you going to say you love me too?" Eric asked._

_Ariel opened her mouth to speak, but Flounder interrupted her, only, he wasn't the Flounder she knew: he was a young human boy with blond hair and blue eyes._

"_She can't speak: she gave up her voice permanently to Ursula to free herself from enslavement." Flounder explained._

_Eric looked at Ariel and frowned. "You don't have a voice?" he asked._

_Ariel shook her head._

"_You can't talk? You can't _sing_?" _

_Once more, Ariel shook her head. Eric's frowned deepened, and he released his arms from around her, letting her drop onto the sand with a thud. Wordlessly, Eric turned and began walking away from Ariel. The mermaid held out her arms imploringly, but Eric couldn't see her. Ariel began to sob, and suddenly, she wasn't on the beach, but back in Atlantica, before her father's throne._

"_I told you they were barbarians," Triton growled._

_Ariel wanted to apologize, to say that she was sorry for disobeying him, but her voice was still gone. She was still mute. And so Triton pointed his trident at his youngest daughter, his expression firm, heartless, and cold._

"_Not only have you betrayed me, but you have also betrayed your people, and all of Atlantica! You are no longer my daughter!" Triton shouted._

_Ariel began to weep again, and she held out her arms to her father. He couldn't do this! It wasn't fair! _

"_Get out of my sight," Triton hissed, and the scene disappeared, and Ariel was once more on the rock, but the beach was gone, and the moon was out, full and casting it's silver light everywhere, the stars twinkling around it._

"_Poor Ariel . . ." they crooned._

"_She gave up everything for love, and love rejected her," another group of stars said._

"_And now she has no family . . ."_

"_No one to love her . . ."_

"_But don't worry, we won't abandon you . . ." the stars said, their previous cruel and eerily Flotsom and Jetsom-like tones gone, replaced with soothing and kind voices._

"_And neither will I," a voice said._

_Ariel looked up in surprise, and she saw Ali, kneeling on his magic carpet, his turban gone, leaving his messy hair to hang freely around his face._

_Ariel looked up at Ali in surprise._

"_I can take you away from here: see the world," Ali offered._

_Ariel gently backed away from him. How could she trust him, when her father and Eric had so cruelly rejected her?_

"_Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Ali promised._

_Still, Ariel made no move towards him._

_Ali smiled. "Come on, it's alright," he said, holding out his hand to her._

_Ariel looked at the hand hesitantly._

"_Do you trust me?" Ali asked._

_Ariel looked up at him and into his deep brown eyes, and she placed her hand in his. Immediately, Ali pulled Ariel onto his carpet and they were flying. Ariel gripped onto Ali tightly, and he gave her a reassuring look. _

"_Don't worry, I won't let you fall," he promised. _

_Once more, Ariel looked into Ali's honest brown eyes, and she believed him. The details of flying were lost on Ariel. All she knew was that she was happy, and that she trusted Ali whole-heartedly. They continued to fly and they saw amazing things – none of which Ariel would be able to remember when she woke up – and they saw people of all different races and ethnicities. They saw the strangest of animals, and the most beautiful of places. Ariel forgot all about Eric and her father, and the rush and excitement and wonder were the only things on her mind. That, and the fact that Ali was there as a strong, immovable force protecting her from her pain and sorrow. He was doing more than making sure she didn't fall: he was keeping her troubles away. He was like the moon: soothing and wonderful. _

_Finally, they came to the oasis where she had fallen into the river. They came back to the same spot where she had orchestrated her plan, and Ali let her off, and she slid into the water. She looked up at Ali and smiled at him gratefully, and he smiled back. _

"_Sweet dreams, Princess," Ali said._

_Ariel smiled up at him – though the part of her that knew it was a dream was wondering how the heck Ali knew she was a princess – and then their faces got closer and closer, until they were only a breath away from touching, and then – _

"CONGRADULATIONS SWEETY!" a voice shouted.

Ariel sat up in surprise, jolted out of her dream by the sound of Scuttle's excited shouting. To be quite honest, at first she was annoyed with the sea gull – the dream had been so wonderful – and then she realized what she had been dreaming about and silently thanked her bird-brained friend. It was because she had talked with Ali right before going to bed. He was one of the last things on her mind before she slept. That's why he was in her dream. And she had almost kissed Eric, so that explained the . . . the last part. Her mind was just processing what had been happening. She was afraid of Eric finding out about her non-humanness and rejecting her, and she was partially homesick, too. That's all it was: her jumbled thoughts being pieced together in a disturbing way by her mind.

"I am so, so, PROUD of you! I was afraid you wouldn't make it! But you showed me, eh, Ariel?" Scuttle asked, winking at Ariel as he landed on her bedside table.

Ariel gave Scuttle a look that said she had no idea what he was talking about, and went to go change into her day clothes.

"What are you talkin' about?" Sebastian asked, voicing Ariel's confusion.

"Why, haven't ya heard? The whole town is buzzin with it!" Scuttle exclaimed.

Ariel was barely listening, she was busy with detangling her monstrous hair: it was like it was deliberately trying to make life above water harder for her.

"Buzzing wit what you bird-brain? You're makin no sense mon!" Sebastian shouted.

Ariel stepped out from behind the screen and looked at her reflection: Jasmine had picked out for her an ensemble that was similar to what the Arabian princess herself wore most of the time. Except for the fact that Ariel was wearing a long skirt instead of the trouser-like clothes Jasmine wore. Being of the same non-heavy light-blue material, Ariel was sure that she would have no problems with heat today.

"Why, with the Prince's weddin of course! It been circulatin through the marketplace all morning: Prince Eric's getting himself hitched this afternoon!" Scuttle said.

Ariel looked at the sea gull incredulously, and then the meaning of what he had said sunk in. Eric was . . . Ariel felt something inside her snap, and she jumped into the air, whooping for joy. She and Eric were getting married _today_! She didn't dwell on the fact that Eric had neglected to tell her, and came to the conclusion that he had wanted to surprise her. But a small part of Ariel was resentful that Eric hadn't properly proposed, or even told her before announcing it to the rest of Agrabah.

_Ali wouldn't have done that,_ a part of Ariel's brain said.

Ariel shook that thought from her head, and she instead picked up Sebastian and twirled him around before kissing him, and then pulled Scuttle into a bear hug before kissing him on the top of his disheveled head. Ariel then ran out of her room to find Eric, though that one part of her was still sour at the fact that her own wedding was being kept secret from her. Ariel ran to Eric's room, and found it empty, and opted to try the garden. Ariel ran down the stairs, and down the hall, but stopped suddenly. That was Grimsby's voice. There was no mistaking it. And it sounded like he was . . . congratulating someone.

Eric! Ariel realized with a start. She almost ran into the throne room, but just as quickly retreated and hid behind one of the curtains. That was Grimsby all right, and Eric, and the Sultan. But there was someone else there, too. A woman. She was beautiful, and she had long dark brown hair that fell in waves down her back, and deep blue eyes that were luminous and mysterious. She was slight and pale, and stunning.

And she was on Eric's arm.

"Vanessa saved my life, I owe her everything," Eric said. Ariel was absolutely shocked, but that one part of her that seemed to be getting more and more powerful – the part that was always thinking about Ali, the part that was always making the logical observations – noted Eric's deadpan voice and face, and the way he stood so tall and straight, so uniform. He wasn't himself. And though that part of her was getting more powerful, Ariel still managed to ignore it. She focused all of her attention on the scene playing out in front of her.

"Of course Eric, but you must know: these things take time . . ." Grimsby began.

"We wished to be married immediately, sundown at latest." Eric stated.

Ariel felt her heart break in her chest. Married? This was the girl that the whole town was buzzing about, not herself! Had everything that had happened between them . . . their almost kiss, how concerned he seemed for her welfare, had it all disappeared? This was just like her dream.

Not being able to take it, Ariel ran from the hall and towards the garden. Maybe she could find some peace there. As she ran, Ariel bumped into someone, but she didn't look up to see who it was. She made to move past them, but the person grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Ariel, are you okay?" a voice asked.

Ariel looked up and found herself looking at Ali. She stared at him for a moment, tears blurring her vision, and then she wrenched herself free from his grasp and ran. She had to get away, she just had to get away . . .

* * *

Aladdin had heard the rumors about Prince Eric getting married. He guessed that the sailor had finally toughened up and asked Ariel. For some reason, that only put him in a grumpy mood, and it didn't help much when someone ran into him on his way to see Jasmine.

With the mood he was in, Aladdin felt ready to snap at the person, but one look down completely changed his attitude. There was no mistaking the red hair. It was Ariel. And though she kept her head down, Aladdin didn't miss the tears falling down her face. She tried to run past him, but he only took hold of her shoulders and forced her to stay. She didn't even look up at him. Something must have been wrong.

"Ariel, are you okay?" Aladdin asked.

She looked up at him, and the pain and devastation in her eyes was so clear and so intense that Aladdin felt his heart break for her. Gone was the happy and joyful girl that he knew. The wonder and fascination had disappeared from her. She was . . . broken. As Ariel stared up at him, she trembled, and she finally looked away and managed to break free of his grip before running off. Aladdin considered going after her, but he finally decided to give her some space. Instead, he turned his attention to where Ariel was running from.

It was the throne room, and Aladdin strode into the chamber, and saw immediately the cause of Ariel's grief. A beautiful young woman was clinging to Eric's arm in an almost possessive way. And the Prince didn't seem to mind at all. Aladdin found himself wishing a multitude of horrible things on Eric and the little . . . the little _harlot_ that was hanging on him.

"What's going on?" Aladdin asked, trying to keep the fury and disgust from his voice.

The Sultan turned around in surprise when he heard Aladdin's voice, and he scurried over to the pretend-Prince's side excitedly.

"Oh, Ali, it's just wonderful! Eric here has finally found his mystery girl: the wonderful young woman that saved him from drowning!" The Sultan exclaimed.

"It's extraordinary that you were able to find her, Your Highness," Aladdin said in that cool and courteous voice that everyone knows you mean to insult the person you're talking to with.

"I didn't: she found me," Eric said in an emotionless voice. Aladdin could have growled. How dare he . . .

Aladdin's murderous thoughts were cut off by the giggling of the woman on Eric's arm. For some reason, that laugh seemed so familiar.

"Oh, Eric, don't be silly: we found each other," the girl sighed, laying her head on his shoulder.

Right now, Aladdin felt a dozen emotions circling through him. On one hand, he was feeling immense hatred and scorn and disgust, all aimed at Eric and his new toy. On the other, he was filled with curiosity at the familiarity of the woman's voice. Where could he have heard it before? He was sure he had never been saved by this woman. He was pretty sure he would remember that. Then again, he wasn't remembering a lot of things lately.

"Well, I wish you two the best," Aladdin said, giving Eric and the girl stiff bows before turning and leaving. He felt something prickle at the back of his neck, and he knew that the girl was staring at him. Aladdin didn't relax until he was well away from the throne room. He took a deep breath and leaned against one of the marble walls, taking off his turban and running a hand through his hair.

_How could he just abandon Ariel like that?_ He asked himself. It was a heartless thing to do: leading her on like that and then smashing her hopes to the ground. It didn't take a genius to know that Ariel was in love with Eric, and for a while, it seemed like Eric returned her feelings. He had even told Aladdin that he was going to propose to the red-head. And then he throws himself on the first girl with a pretty voice he finds. A part of Aladdin wanted to storm back into the throne room and kill Eric in the most painful and horrible way he could. But something stopped him. The memory of a girl with the largest, saddest eyes he had ever seen, and a heart that was undoubtedly broken inside her chest. No, he had to help Ariel. That vile Eric could wait, Ariel needed him more.

Unfortunately, Ariel didn't seem to think the same thing. Aladdin searched and searched, but Ariel was nowhere to be found. Not giving up, Aladdin continued to hunt for her, unwilling to leave her alone and vulnerable when she was this hurt. After searching all throughout the palace and its grounds, Aladdin decided to take a spontaneous trip to the marketplace, searching all of its nooks and crannies and asking around. As he was still in his Prince attire, people were more than happy to help him, or rather, attempt to help him. There was no sign of the red-head. But still Aladdin searched. It was almost sundown when Aladdin finally realized the one place that Ariel should avoid was possibly the one place she would be.

Eric's wedding barge was leaving by the time Aladdin arrived at the docks. He looked at the retreating ship with distaste, but then found his attention captured wholly by the girl staring forlornly after the ship. Slowly and silently, Aladdin approached Ariel. He didn't want to startle her, what with the condition she was in. But Aladdin found it hard not to run to her side when she collapsed onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. But Aladdin paced himself, and finally came to where she lay. Slowly, Aladdin sat down beside her and gently gathered her in his arms, stroking her hair whispering words of reassurance in her ear.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," Aladdin whispered.

Ariel only continued to sob, and Aladdin felt her tiny form shake and shudder. Aladdin closed his eyes and forced the tears that were threatening to spill from his own eyes back.

"It's his loss, you know. He's missing out on a wonderful girl," Aladdin said.

Ariel continued to weep, though her sobs grew less and less violent. But he could still feel the intense sadness radiating off of her. And all of a sudden, something stirred in Aladdin's memory. A song, a song that someone with a clear voice sang to him when he was crying, overwhelmed with a sadness almost as great as Ariel's. It had helped calm him down when he was full of grief, maybe it would help Ariel. If only he could remember the words . . .

"Endless sky," Aladdin began, the tune coming out a little hesitant. But he slowly remembered more of it, and he began to sing more confidently.

_Waves try to measure_

_The days that we treasure_

_Wave hello_

_And wave_

_Goodbye_

Ariel's sobbing had stopped entirely now, and she was staring up at Aladdin in wonder. She wiped the tears away from her eyes, and she continued to give Aladdin that incredulous look.

"Didn't know I could sing, did you?" Aladdin asked, giving her a small smile.

Ariel returned the smile, and she was giving him a very intense look. It took Aladdin only a moment to realize what Ariel was trying to convey.

"You're welcome," Aladdin replied to her wordless thank you.

Ariel smiled up at him, but this time, it seemed less forced. Aladdin could see a ghost of the old Ariel in her eyes, and he knew that she was already starting to heal. He hadn't even realized that in their scrutinizing of each other, they had moved closer, their faces almost touching . . .

"ARIEL!" a voice shouted, jerking the two out of their trance.

Aladdin started, and he looked around in confusion, trying to find the source of the yelling. He was so intent on finding the speaker, that he didn't notice the small red crab that had appeared at Ariel's side, or the tiny yellow fish that had bobbed its head above the water.

"ARIEL!" the voice shouted again, and as Aladdin continued to search for the sound of the voice, something rammed into his stomach, sending him down onto the wooden planks of the dock. Aladdin groaned and looked up to find that a sea gull had crashed into him.

"What the –"

"Ariel," the sea gull said, stumbling off of Aladdin and face-planting onto the dock before picking himself up and hurrying over to the red-head.

"Ariel! I was flying, I was – well of course I was flying – and I, I saw, the – the watch! The witch! Was watchin' the mirror, and she was singing with a stolen set of pipes!" the seagull exclaimed before grabbing the small red crab that Aladdin hadn't noticed until now and bringing the small creature up to his face.

"Do you hear what I'm tellin' you! The Prince is marrying the Sea Witch in disguise!" The seagull cried, emphasizing each word by hitting the crab on the dock.

Now, Aladdin had no idea what the seagull was talking about – he was still in partial shock that the thing was talking at all – but the words seemed to mean something to Ariel, because her previous hopeless look had changed to one of shock and realization. She stood up and stared after the wedding barge, a determined set to her jaw.

"Hey, why aren't you at your wedding?" the seagull asked, turning to look at Aladdin.

"What do you mean?" Aladdin asked.

"It's one of em double weddings: the Prince and the Sea Witch, and you and that other princess!" the seagull said.

"But I can't be getting married if I'm here," Aladdin said.

"But you were on that boat when I was there," the seagull said.

The full meaning of the gull's words finally sunk in to Aladdin's brain.

"Jasmine's about to marry an imposter!" Aladdin exclaimed.

Ariel looked back at Aladdin, and he saw her plan in her eyes.

"We've got to crash that wedding," Aladdin said.

Ariel nodded.

"Scuttle! You stall it to give Ariel and Ali time to get dere. Flounder, you help dem. I'll get de King!" the small crab said before diving into the water.

"Stall the wedding, stall the wedding, stall the wedding . . . that's it!" Scuttle cried before flying off, cawing loudly.

"There's no time to get Carpet, we'll have to swim," Aladdin said.

Ariel nodded, and she dove into the water. Aladdin jumped in after her, and he put her arm over his shoulder when he discovered her inability to swim.

"Here, let me help," a small yellow fish said, worming his way under Ariel's other arm.

Aladdin nodded his head, and they began to swim.

"I hope we get there in time," Aladdin said.

Ariel looked at him, and Aladdin could tell that she was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

_Okay, would you believe that I wrote this ALL IN ONE DAY? I know, I'm on a writing high. :D I'm probably going to focus all of my attention on this story, since it's almost done, so expect a lot of updates in the near future. The next chapter is going to have a LOT of action in it, and probably the one after that. I'm expecting maybe three more chapters, perhaps four or five depending on how long I want the ending to be and whether or not I'll include an Epilogue. Who knows, I might add another Disney fandom into the Epilogue. ;) I just want to thank all of you who have reviewed and read this story so faithfully, even when I was being so lazy with updates, and my crappy grammar/spelling. Thank you so much for giving this story a chance. Without you, this would never have been possible. I love you guys!_

_~FantasticMisticalWonder(FMW/Wonder) _


	9. Exposed

Here's another update! I'm not going to give away too much of the story, but I promise some action in the upcoming chapters, and you will see some of our beloved villains, and maybe even some more Ariel/Aladdin scenes. (or Arien, as I hear the ship name is called. I didn't even know it had a ship name. I guess when people heard how awesome Zutara was; they just HAD to come up with a super cool ship name for their favorite couples, too, huh? :D If you haven't seen Avatar: the Last Airbender, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about, but Zutara pwns all. That's all that matters. :D) Sorry if my little mid-sentence rant about the awesomeness of Zutara threw you off. And sorry if any Kataang lovers just read that. But that doesn't give you an excuse to say 'Zutara sucks' or something like that in the comments box. Kindly state what pairing you ship and then go on about the story. The comments page is for expressing opinions about the story, not for ship-wars that have nothing to do with the story. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely NOTHING people! Aladdin: Disney's property! The Little Mermaid: Disney's! I wish I owned these stories, but I don't, so no suing me!

* * *

The swim was taking longer than Ariel thought it would. Had she still her fins, it would only be a matter of seconds before she was at the ship. But it seemed nearly impossible to swim with her legs, though Ali seemed to be managing. But then again, he was born a human, and taught how to swim, whilst Ariel was still getting the hand of walking.

Speaking of Ali, the encounter she had with him back at the docks was so like the dream she had had, it scared her. Just like in the dream, Eric had hurt her, and Ali had been the one to come pick up the pieces. And they had almost kissed . . . what did that mean?

And then he was singing her mother's lullaby! How had he known _that_? It had been created by Queen Athena, no human had ever heard it! So then how did Ali seem to know it? Something nagged at Ariel's memory, something important. But it just wouldn't clear!

"We're almost there, Ariel, just a little longer," Ali assured her, sensing Ariel's weariness.

The red-head turned to face the Prince, and gave him a reassuring smile to let him know that she could do it. This seemed to satisfy him, and he nodded his head before continuing swimming.

"Just . . . a few more . . . oh man," Flounder gasped.

"Just a little closer," Ali said.

It took them only a few more minutes to reach the ship, though it felt like hours. The ship was rooted in place by long wooden poles, and Ariel wrapped her arms around one before hoisting herself up to climb.

"I'll never understand how you got so good at climbing," Ali grunted behind her.

Ariel turned around and gave Ali a small smile before continuing to climb. Just a few more feet to go. She finally reached the railing, and hoisted herself onto the deck before surveying the scene in front of her.

The whole deck was in chaos: Scuttle had recruited some seagulls and flamingos and seals and starfish to help stall the wedding, and everything was in an uproar. The guests were screaming, Grimsby and the Sultan were hiding under a table, Max was barking his head off, and Iago was flapping around, screeching. But all of Ariel's attention was focused on the people near the alter.

There was Eric and Jasmine and Vanessa, and there was . . . Ali! Ariel turned around and saw the Prince standing next to her, staring at his double.

"What the –"

"Ali?" Jasmine asked in confusion, staring at the man beside her, and then at the real Ali next to Ariel.

"What's going on here?" Jasmine asked.

Meanwhile, it seems that Scuttle had gotten a few starfish to attack Vanessa – or Ursula – and she was shrieking curses at them as she tried to pry them off of her. Scuttle made a dive for the woman, but a red blur crashed into the gull, and Scuttle lay sprawled on the deck, Iago on top of him.

"Nice try feather-brain!" he sneered.

"Oh yeah! You wanna mess with the gull, huh? Well I'll show you –" Scuttle growled before tackling the parrot, the two birds rolling off into a corner as they scratched and pecked and insulted each other. Ariel turned her attention back to Ursula, and she narrowed her eyes. Ariel hoisted herself over the railing and charged at Vanessa, tackling her to the ground.

"You little brat," Vanessa hissed.

That was definitely Ariel's voice. The red-head glared at the brunette, and then she dug her nails into the sea-witch's face, finding satisfaction when she drew blood, and even more satisfaction when Vanessa screeched. Ariel grinned triumphantly before continuing to claw at the sea witch before grabbing the shell that hung around her neck.

"Give that back!" Vanessa shrieked, but Ariel held it away . Growling, the sea-witch made a grab for the shell, pushing Ariel to the ground and causing the amulet to go flying out of her hand.

"No!" Vanessa screamed as the shell slid along the deck. She quickly got off of Ariel and ran to retrieve it, but the mermaid grabbed the sea-witch's ankle, causing her to face-plant on the deck. Ariel got up and ran at the necklace, but it was trampled beneath a panicking guest's foot before she could reach it.

* * *

Aladdin could not believe his eyes when he saw the doppelganger standing next to Jasmine. It looked exactly like him. Jasmine was obviously as confused as he was, but whatever she said was lost on him in the chaos of the battle. Aladdin was vaguely aware of Scuttle and Iago wrestling on the floor, but Aladdin found his attention drawn elsewhere when Ariel suddenly attacked Vanessa.

Aladdin didn't know that Ariel could be so violent: she scratched at the woman's face, drawing blood, and continued to claw at Vanessa until her fingers hooked around the necklace upon the brunette's throat, and holding it away.

"Ali?" Jasmine asked, running at Aladdin and drawing the street-rat's attention away from the cat-fight.

"He's not Ali; I am!" the fake Ali shouted.

"Don't listen to him Jasmine!" Aladdin shouted when he saw the Princess stop and look back.

"He's an imposter! I'm your fiancée!" the other Ali shouted.

"Jasmine! It's me!" Aladdin shouted, noticing her hesitance again.

But Jasmine's decision was cut short, when something snapped.

That's all Aladdin could describe it as: it felt like something in the air had snapped. Everyone was suddenly silent, and Vanessa had a horrified look on her face.

It was then that Aladdin noticed the shards of the shell necklace on the deck, and the glowing orb slowly moving towards Ariel. An eerily familiar voice was emanating from that orb, and it only got stronger and stronger as it neared the red-head, traveling up and curling around her until it barely brushed her throat –

– and a single, clear, beautiful, powerful note sprang from her mouth. Ariel's hand went to her throat in an almost caressing way as the note continued to ring, until it faded away.

And then Aladdin remembered.

The girl, the girl who he had met after his mother's death. The girl who sang to him when he had cried. The girl who knew what it was like to lose a loved one.

The girl who disappeared.

He remembered! Sudden relief and excitement flowed through Aladdin as he came to this revelation, though there was still something nagging at the back of his mind, something he was forgetting. But Aladdin pushed that feeling away. He had so many questions for Ariel, and he wanted to tell her all that he remembered . . .

. . . but Eric got to her first.

The Prince had obviously come to his senses, and that vacant look was gone from his eyes. No, instead, his entire face radiated joy and wonder.

"Ariel?" he almost laughed.

"Eric," Ariel said, smiling. And the voice fit. It was as light and happy and beautiful as the girl who it belonged to. It had sounded so perverse and wrong coming from Vanessa's mouth, but it fit Ariel like a glove.

"Eric! Get away from her!" Vanessa screeched, her voice now deep and gravely.

"It was you! It was you all this time!" Eric exclaimed as he drew Ariel in close.

"I wanted to tell you –" Ariel began, but she was cut off as Eric suddenly planted his mouth on hers.

"No!" Vanessa shrieked.

Aladdin felt something lurch in his stomach, and he turned away. He told himself that it was for privacy's sake, but a part of him knew that it was a lie. He didn't know why he should feel this way, though. Shouldn't he be happy for Ariel? After all, the one she loved had finally realized his feelings for her. Maybe it was because he felt that Ariel shouldn't have been so quick to forgive Eric after he had broken her heart and almost married the woman who stole her voice, or maybe it was because Aladdin thought that Ariel deserved better. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because he –

Aladdin's thoughts were broken by a sudden cry from Ariel. Aladdin turned around in surprise, and found Ariel lying limp on the deck, looking up at Eric in shame, and Eric looking back down at her in horror.

And then Aladdin noticed the tale.

It was then that everything fit together. Ariel was a mermaid. How could he have forgotten that? It had been so important to him at the time, his first friend being this wonderful mermaid he had met. It should have come back to him the moment he saw Ariel! But it didn't.

"Ariel?" Jasmine gasped in surprise, and Aladdin noticed the other guests backing away from Ariel in disgust, as was Eric.

"YES!" Vanessa cried triumphantly. She raised her arms in victory, and then lightening came from the heavens and struck her open palms. At first, Aladdin was hoping that she would be fried, but though the lightening ripped through her flesh, she didn't fall down dead. No, instead, something gruesome wormed its way out of Vanessa's body. At first, Aladdin thought it was an obese woman with bad skin, but then she revealed her tentacles, and she shot towards Ariel and wound those cold slimy tentacles around the mermaid's slight form.

"I think we should leave the rest of the show for them to watch, don't you?" the thing asked, turning towards the fake Ali.

"I think that's a splendid idea," the imposter said, smiling in a sinister way as he grabbed the snake-staff that had been leaning against a table. He raised it, and then slammed the bottom of it on the ground, sending vibrating sparks up his body until the image of Ali was gone, replaced with Jafar. Jasmine stared in disgusted horro, and started running towards Aladdin, but Jafar grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"Not so fast, princess," Jafar sneered before pulling something out of the folds of his cloak. Aladdin blanched when he saw what it was.

The lamp.

"Oh no," Aladdin moaned.

"Being bound by mortal ties is so tiring, wouldn't you agree, Ursula?" Jafar asked.

"Quite tiring," Ursula agreed as she continued to hold the struggling Ariel.

"Then it's settled. Genie! I make my second wish: to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world!" Jafar shouted. At once, blue smoke began puffing out of the lamp, and soon, Genie had appeared. The guests screamed and backed away, Jasmine looked even more terrified than ever, and even Ariel ceased her struggling to gaze up at Genie in wonder. The giant blue man had this torn, sad, and defeated look on his face, and he gave Aladdin an apologetic look before shooting a beam of light out of his finger at Jafar. The vizier cackled as the red light engulfed him, and he caressed his golden staff, letting go of Jasmine's arm. Immediately, Jasmine ran towards Ali, but in one quick, fluid motion, Jafar pointed his staff at the fleeing princess, and she became encased in a red glow before she was shackled to the deck. Jasmine desperately pulled on the chains, but she was unable to free herself of them. Jafar gave one of his evil laughs, and then he pointed his staff at Eric, who had been moving towards one of the decorative swords on the table. It wasn't long before Eric, too, was shackled alongside Jasmine.

Jafar smiled, and then his eyes fell on Aladdin. Too late, the false-prince realized what was going through the sorcerer's mind, and started running a millisecond after he should have. A beam from Jafar's staff hit Aladdin, and he expected to find himself chained like Eric and Jasmine. But he felt no cuffs around his wrist. Looking down, Aladdin saw that his princely clothes had been replaced with his old, patched up rags.

"It looks like there are two deceivers here today!" Jafar cackled.

"Ali?" Jasmine asked in confusion.

Aladdin gave her an apologetic look, but a whispered name distracted him.

"Aladdin,"

His head whipping around, Aladdin searched for the source of the whisper, and found himself looking at Ariel, her big blue eyes fixated on him, and an all too familiar emotion in her eyes.

Recognition.

She, too, had remembered their meeting, at last. Finally, all the pieces in their memories had been put together. Now, there was no more uncertainty, no more confusion, and no more nagging feelings in the backs of their heads.

"Isn't it tragic, dear Jasmine? Your dear Prince Ali is no more than a common street rat, who abused the power of this precious lamp to fool you into thinking he was a Prince." Jafar sneered.

Hurt flashed through Jasmine's eyes. "Ali . . ."

"I wanted to tell you –"

"Yes, yes, but her father wouldn't let a street rat court her, we all know the law peasant," Jafar snapped, once more shooting a beam at Aladdin and chaining him to the ground, as well as adding an additional gag to prevent from further conversation.

"Would you like me to properly contain that little angelfish for you, Ursula?" Jafar asked.

"That would be most helpful," Ursula said, throwing Ariel to the deck just before the magic in Jafar's staff hit her, imprisoning her in a glowing red orb, with two chains of the same glowing substance holding the mermaid's arms at neck-height. Ariel attempted to break free, but a quick shock sent up both chains ceased Ariel's struggles as she cried out in pain.

"Ah, ah, ah, we don't want you hurting yourself, now do we?" Jafar asked.

"Bastard," Ariel spat at Jafar.

Had they not been in mortal peril, Aladdin would have laughed. He never would have pegged Ariel as one to curse.

However, Jafar did not find Ariel's comment as amusing, and his face twisted in anger.

"You little brat . . ." he snarled.

"Hold your anger! I still need her," Ursula growled.

Jafar glared at the sea witch, but he backed up in consent. No sooner had he done so, then the sky suddenly darkened, and thunder rolled and lightening cracked. The waves began to thrash around the ship, tossing it around. Ursula smiled in anticipation.

"**URSULA**!" roared a voice.

"Right on cue," Ursula chuckled.

The sea continued to boil, and slowly, something began to emerge from the water. It didn't take long for Aladdin to identify it as a man, large and muscular, wearing a golden crown and carrying a three-pronged staff. A trident. There was an angry red glow to his eyes, and he was glaring at Ursula so intently, that Aladdin was hoping she would just drop down dead from the venom in the merman's eyes.

"Hello, Triton," Ursula said.

"Let my daughter go," he growled in response.

"Daughter?" Jasmine blurted, clamping her mouth shut just as quickly as she had opened it.

Ursula barely turned her head. "Yes, my dear: not only is our dear little Ariel a mermaid, but she is also the youngest daughter of the King of the Sea,"

Aladdin stared at Ariel. Great. Was _every_ girl he met a princess?

"So help me Ursula, if you don't let Ariel go –"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Triton dear: you see, your daughter signed a contract," Ursula said, false apology in her voice as she summoned a golden scroll with a flick of her hand. She opened the scroll for Triton to see. The characters on the page meant nothing to Aladdin, but Triton's eyes opened wide as they scanned the contents of the parchment.

"No," he gasped.

"Don't do anything she says, Daddy! I'll be - AAAGH!" Ariel screamed, her sentence cut off as Jafar sent another shock into her body. Triton stared at the convulsing body of his daughter, pain and grief clear in his eyes.

"It must be so hard, seeing your daughter in this much pain. I know it must hurt. But I am an understanding woman, and I would be willing to set your daughter free . . . for a price," Ursula said, grinning.

Triton tore his eyes away from his daughter and looked at Ursula, the hopeless look in his eyes saying that he would be willing to do whatever it took. Ursula smiled triumphantly, but before either of them could say anything, something came crashing from the sky.

"Don't listen to her your majesty! She's a lousy stinkin' liar!" Scuttle shouted, face-planting into the deck before scrambling to his feet and scurrying over to King Triton.

"Your majesty! I'm a good friend of your daughter's, and I think it only right for you to know that that witch went against what she wrote on that fancy paper! The deal was that if Ariel got the Prince to kiss her, she could stay human forever! The Prince kissed her! I saw it with my own two eyes! He gave her a nice big one right on the lips! And it was before sunset!" Scuttle exclaimed.

Triton stared at Scuttle, anger slowly marring his features before he turned back to Ursula.

"You have directly violated the laws of the Deep Magic," Triton growled.

"Not so fast Triton! I said that if she got a kiss of true love she could keep her legs. Just any old kiss doesn't cut it." Ursula snapped.

"What do you mean?" Triton asked, his voice getting even more menacing as he gripped his trident more tightly.

"What I mean, is that your little angelfish may have been swayed because of . . . an unexpected variable," Ursula said, her eyes flitting to rest on Aladdin for a second before turned back to look at Triton.

Something in Aladdin's stomach lurched as he realized Ursula's meaning. Ariel was no longer sure she was in love with Eric, because she had potential feelings for another. Potential feelings for him. Aladdin almost gulped. This was not good. Though he was finding it harder and harder to deny that he felt an attraction to the mermaid, he was supposed to marry Jasmine!

Aladdin tried to ignore the half-heartedness in that statement.

"What do you want?" Triton asked, the hopelessness once more in his every move and word.

"It's not what I want, Triton dear, it's what the contract needs. According to our little agreement, your daughter is to be forever my prisoner," Ursula said, gesturing at the chained Ariel.

"What can I do?" Triton asked.

"It might be possible for me to arrange . . . a trade." Ursula leered.

"NO!" Ariel screamed, once more trying to break free of her bonds. But Jafar sent another shock through the chains and into Ariel's body, silencing the mermaid.

Triton stared with tortured eyes at his daughter, and he looked down, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Then, he looked up, and he pointed his trident at the contract, sending a beam of light at the paper, writing a new set of markings over the signature already present.

"Its done then!" Ursula cried, the contract suddenly wrapping itself around the king, until he began to shrink. Ursula grabbed him before he hit the ocean, only, he wasn't the king anymore. What was left was only a tiny, withered shell of a plant. Ursula tossed what was left of the king carelessly on the deck, and instead lifted the discarded trident and crown off the deck triumphantly, placing the crown atop her own head.

"You monster!" Ariel screamed, lunging at the witch, only to be stopped by Jafar's magic chains.

Ursula gave Ariel a withering look. "Your outbursts are becoming quite tiresome, angelfish. Whatever are we going to do with you?" Ursula asked.

"I have a splendid idea, Ursula," Jafar said, a malicious smile on his lips.

"Pray, do tell."

"I think our street rat and mermaid ought to be punished. They, after all, did deceive their own kingdoms. That is classified as treason, is it not?" Jafar asked.

"Why, I do believe it is," Ursula said, smiling.

"What should be their punishment? Imprisonment? Torture?"

"I think banishment would be far more suitable." Ursula offered.

"I do agree, but where to send them?" Jafar asked, pointing his staff at Ariel, dissolving the orb and chaining her to Aladdin.

Ursula smiled. "I know just the place,"

* * *

*gasps* . . . . I know, cliffy! Now, I know this chapter might be a bit confusing, so here's some answers to possible questions you might have.

What's with Jafar and Ursula? Quite simple, they're working together. They've formed an alliance, a temporary partnership. We don't know how that happened yet, but it will be explained, I promise.

Why the heck did Ariel turn into a mermaid after kissing Eric? Once more, quite simple: she wasn't entirely in love with Eric anymore. Her feelings were confused. She might be in love with Aladdin as well, so technically, she didn't get her kiss of true love.

Jafar as Aladdin. And he's got the lamp and he's already used up two wishes. Explain? Okay, so, to clarify, Jafar stole the lamp much like he did in the film: send in Iago to take it. He then used the lamp to become a shape-shifter. He then used his second wish to become a sorcerer. Got it?

Where's Ursula sending Aladdin and Ariel? Can't say, spoiler, sorry.

What the heck is Zutara? A pairing from the show Avatar the Last Airbender. Stick to questions about the story, please.

Where did Scuttle and Flounder come from? And where's Sebastian and Abu and Carpet? Okay, so Scuttle and Flounder took the long way around in the sea to get to Agrabah so they could continue to help Ariel. Sebastian went to get the king, we don't know what happened to him. Carpet and Abu are presumably back in Agrabah, but for all we know, they could have been captured by Jafar. It is not known.

Okay, if you have anymore questions, please just ask me! I'd be happy to answer them! I'll try and update soon!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


	10. Imprisoned

"Who knew Ursula had a sister?" Aladdin groaned, sitting up straighter. Both he and Ariel were currently locked in a tiny cell made entirely of ice.

"Pretty much all of Atlantica. When Ursula and Morgana were banished, Ursula was sent to the bad-waters, and Morgana was sent here. My father didn't want them plotting together to try and take over Atlantica. It wasn't likely to happen, though; they could hardly speak for five seconds without fighting." Ariel explained, fingering her chain.

"And since Ursula's Queen of the Sea, Morgana has to do whatever her dear sister wants," Aladdin guessed.

Ariel nodded. "Yep,"

They sat in silence for a moment before either one spoke.

"So . . . you sold your voice for legs?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel looked down, "Yes,"

"How did you – you know, meet Eric?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel shrugged. "I saw a ship on the surface, and I went to go look at the humans. I saw Eric, and I . . . ."

"Love at first sight, huh?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded.

"It was like that with Jasmine: I saw her in the market place, and she just seemed so, so . . ."

"So perfect. The most beautiful and wonderful thing you had ever seen." Ariel finished.

Aladdin nodded. "Exactly. I saved her from an apple merchant, we bonded, and then some guards came to pick her up and I found out she was the princess." Aladdin said.

"I saved Eric's life. There was a terrible storm, he went to go save Max, and then the ship exploded. I swam him back to shore."

"You sang to him, didn't you?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded. "I felt so in love, it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me. But then my father found out, and he destroyed all of my human things, and then . . ."

"Ursula came into the picture, offered you a way to be with Eric." Aladdin guessed.

Ariel nodded again.

"When I realized that Jasmine was the princess, I felt so hopeless. I couldn't be with her now; the law said she had to marry a prince. And then this crazy old guy started talking about this place called the Cave of Wonders, and how it had untold riches in it. I could be as rich as a prince if I just went there. The old man said he would take me if I agreed to get something for him from the cave. This old lamp. So, we got there, I went in, he told me not to touch anything except the lamp, and I found it with the help of this magic carpet, but the Abu picked up a giant ruby, and the cave started melting. I almost managed to get out, but the old coot tricked me, and he tried to take the lamp and leave me in the cave. But then Abu stole it from him, I rubbed it, and this Genie appeared who offered to grant me three wishes for freeing him."

"You wished to be a prince?" Ariel asked.

Aladdin nodded. "Yes, that was my first wish. My second was used up when some goons tried to drown me. I didn't exactly wish it, but Genie saved me anyways." Aladdin explained.

"Who tried to drown you?" Ariel asked.

"I didn't get a look at the thugs or their boss, but I have a good idea who it was." Aladdin growled.

"Jafar," Ariel guessed.

Aladdin nodded.

Ariel sighed. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" she asked.

"I wish I knew." Aladdin said, before crying out in frustration.

"Gah! I should have listened to Genie! I should have just been myself and not pretended! Jasmine wouldn't have cared!" Aladdin screamed.

"It's not your fault," Ariel soothed.

"But _she_ thinks it is! Did you see that look she gave me, back at the ship? She hates me now!" Aladdin cried.

"Aladdin, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine: I practically signed off my soul for the slim chance that I might be with a man I barely knew! I hardly even knew his name, and I was ready to throw my life away for him." Ariel exclaimed.

"Ariel, it's not your fault. You were in love." Aladdin said gently, his past anger forgotten.

"But I wasn't!" Ariel cried before her eyes widened and she clamped her mouth shut. Did she really just say that?

"What do you mean?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel averted her eyes to the ground. "I only thought I was in love with Eric because he was the first human I saw. The first human I thought I related to. I heard him talk about how he was so tired about the restraints of the palace, and I thought 'he's just like me.'"

"Same thing with Jasmine. We both just started talking about how trapped we felt in our lives, even though they were two completely different kinds of trapped. But it felt good to have someone know what it was like, you know?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded. "Back in Atlantica, I was always the odd sister. I never was into wearing pretty things or messing with my hair like my sisters: I just wanted to explore sunken ships, find human things and explore the surface. No one understood me." Ariel said.

"It gets pretty lonely, doesn't it?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded. "I had friends who went on adventures with me, but even they didn't understand me."

Aladdin chuckled. "That's better than what I had: Abu was my only friend."

"Is Abu your ginormajigger?" Ariel asked.

Aladdin looked at Ariel in confusion. "My what?" he asked in alarm.

"That thing we rode to the oasis," Ariel clarified.

"Oh! Yeah, that was Abu. He was originally a monkey, but Genie turned him into an elephant when he turned me into a prince." Aladdin explained.

"Oh! So it's called an elephant! And those things you eat with, the ones with the pointy-ends, they're–"

"Forks, yes," Aladdin said, amused.

"Scuttle said they were called dinglehoppers! And that you used them to brush your hair! I guess he confused them with something else," Ariel mused.

"Yeah, I guess he did," Aladdin said, smiling.

Ariel smiled back and she leaned against the cell wall, continuing to look at Aladdin.

"What happened to you, after we met eleven years ago?" she asked.

Aladdin shrugged, "I sort of just moved from doorstep to doorstep, living off of whatever scrapings people could spare. Eventually I became too old for pity to get me food, so I had to resort to stealing. Abu followed me from a traveling circus I had taken some food from, and he's been with me ever since. What about you?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel fingered the ends of her hair as she tried to remember what had happened in her life after she met Aladdin. "Well, the nine years that followed were pretty dull. The death of my mother put Atlantica into a prolonged period of mourning: my father banned everything from going to the surface to music. But I managed to stay sane by visiting this secret club that had music and dancing and everything. My father eventually found out about it and destroyed it, but after I ran away with the rest of the music players and I almost died, my father eventually realized how wrong he had been in banning music from Atlantica, and he returned it. After that I became infatuated with human things. I became friends with this merboy named Urchin who lived by stealing – kind of like you – and this mute mermaid named Gabriella. We had adventures, and we had to deal with an evil Manta and we had a few encounters with Ursula, and there was this one time Urchin thought I was engaged to the Prince of Olympia and accidentally pit us in a war against them . . ."

"Sounds exciting," Aladdin commented.

Ariel nodded. "It was. But I still felt . . . out of my element, like I didn't belong. And when I was finally on the surface with my legs, I still felt out of place, and I longed for the sea like I had longed for the human world." Ariel explained.

"I felt the same way in the palace: I felt just as much an outsider as I did on the streets." Aladdin said.

"I guess we still need to find home," Ariel said.

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah, I guess we do."

Ariel looked at the street rat, and their eyes met. And in that instant, Ariel saw herself in his eyes. They were both outsiders, and they both had given up everything they knew to be with the ones they loved, and they were both pretenders. They were kindred spirits. And Ariel found sudden comfort in that revelation. Finally, here was someone who knew what it was like to be her: to feel so alone and lost, and to feel like you don't belong. Aladdin knew exactly what it was like.

Suddenly, that comfort blossomed and exploded into joy and warmth. Ariel wanted to cry out and laugh: here was someone who was just like her. Finally someone she could talk to, who could understand what she was going through! It felt so good to have a friend like that, Ariel thought she would burst.

"What?" Aladdin asked, and Ariel realized she had been smiling like an idiot.

"It's just . . . I've never had someone understand me before. I guess I'm just happy that I'm not alone anymore." Ariel said.

Aladdin smiled back at Ariel, and the mermaid saw reflected in his eyes the same joy that she was currently feeling. "Yeah, it does feel good."

The sat like that for a while, just smiling at each other and feeling completely and utterly happy, until they were broken out of their blissful trance by a grating shout.

"How are my two favorite prisoners?" A female voice cackled.

Both Ariel and Aladdin winced as the shrill voice ran like a knife through their ears. Soon, a woman with greenish skin and the bottom half of an octopus came before their cell. Morgana was as thin as Ursula was fat, but her long, angular face reflected the same malice that Ursula had. She saw them huddled in the back, and cackled.

"Gettin' comfy, are we? I don't blame you: it gets so cold and boring up here, sometimes I wish I had someone to cuddle with. Maybe you could share your little boyfriend with me, hmm red?" Morgana asked, eyeing Aladdin.

Ariel felt Aladdin stiffen beside her, and she wrapped her arms around Aladdin's arm protectively and glared at Morgana in response. "I think Aladdin's fine where he is," Ariel replied coolly.

"Don't want to share him, huh? Neither would I. Quite a looker, isn't he?" Morgana asked, cackling.

"Oh, if only your little sweethearts could see you now. Not that they'd care: I hear they're getting quite cozy together in their own little cell. Of course, I hear Jafar _makes_ Eric share Jasmine with him." Morgana commented, giving another one of her annoying cackles.

"It's amazing how easily love can be overcome, isn't it?" Morgana asked before slithering away on her tentacles.

Ariel waited until she could no longer hear Morgana's cackling before releasing Aladdin's arm.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"It's alright; I was afraid she wanted to have me with a side of cabbage," Aladdin said, shivering.

Ariel gave a weak smile, but her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't help but dwell on what Morgana had said. Was it true? Were Jasmine and Eric getting as close as she and Aladdin were, locked in their own cells? She wasn't jealous, of course, since she realized that she was never really in love with Eric, but she worried for Aladdin. She was sure that he was still in love with Jasmine, and she was unsure of how much Morgana's commenting on the princess's budding relationship with Eric, and her servitude to Jafar had affected Aladdin. Was he jealous, angry, in pain? She wished she could ask, but a part of her told her not to breach the sensitive subject.

"Are you okay?" Ariel asked instead.

Aladdin looked down. "I'm fine," he replied.

Ariel stared at Aladdin, narrowing her eyes. It was obvious that what Morgana had said _had_ affected him. He was still very much in love with Jasmine, and the thought of her with Eric, and the thought of Jafar using her was killing him. Ariel could tell by the tortured look in his eyes. And seeing Aladdin in so much pain, it almost broke her heart. And so, then, Ariel made her decision, and she sat up straight with a determined set to her jaw.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Ariel said.

Aladdin looked up at Ariel in surprise. "What?" he asked in surprise.

"Jafar's got Jasmine and Eric captured, and Ursula's terrorizing Atlantica right now. We've got to stop them," Ariel said.

Aladdin looked at Ariel for a long time, and slowly, a smile spread across his face.

"What?" Ariel asked.

"I think I've got a plan." Aladdin said.

* * *

"Dinner!" Morgana screeched, shoving a single slab of ice into the cell, a few shriveled pieces of kelp and a rotten fish on top of it. Aladdin didn't look up, however. His eyes were trained on an unconscious Ariel, who he had cradled in his arms.

"Aww, is the little mermaid having nightmares?" Morgana asked mockingly.

"It's too cold here, she can't stand it. Don't you have something hot we can eat?" Aladdin asked, his eyes still on Ariel.

"You're lucky to get any food at all, human." Morgana snarled.

"But if Ariel doesn't get something warm to eat, she might die," Aladdin insisted, looking up at Morgana, pleading her with his eyes.

"Not my problem," Morgana said dismissively as she began to slither away.

"I don't think Ursula would like it much if Ariel died, though." Aladdin said.

Morgana stopped, and spun to face Aladdin, her face a mask of anger.

"Okay, one, don't ever mention my sister when I'm around. Two, Ursula couldn't care less if your precious Ariel had an unfortunate accident. She got what she wanted." Morgana sneered.

"How do you know the contract won't break?" Aladdin asked.

"Her father replaced Ariel's signature. Ariel's not part of the deal anymore," Morgana reminded him.

"Triton signed away his life so that his daughter could be safe. How do you know that he won't regain his powers if Ariel should die prematurely?" Aladdin asked.

Morgana stopped, and Aladdin knew that his words had gotten through to her. He knew they would. She may have hated her sister with a fiery passion, but Morgana also feared Ursula as much as fish feared sharks. Aladdin had to force himself not to smile. This was just as he planned it.

Finally, Morgana seemed to make up her mind, and she growled.

"Fine," and without another word, she pointed her finger at the ice slab with food on it, and shot what appeared to be a beam of light at it. There was a flash of light, and then where the ice slab had been was now a very confused-looking yellow bear.

"Oh, dearie me. I just had this wonderful pot of honey in my hands, and now I've lost it." The bear looked up and took in his suroundings.

"Oh, dear, it looks like I've lost the Hundred Acre Woods, too." The bear mused.

"Dang it!" Morgana screeched before pointing her finger at the bear and shooting another beam of light at him, replacing him once more with the ice slab.

"Why, why can't I even be half as good as Ursula?" Morgana growled, looking at her hands in distaste.

Ariel suddenly shuddered, and a small gasp escaped her lips before she collapsed back into Aladdin's arms, still once more.

"Morgana, please! I don't think she can hold on much longer!" Aladdin pleaded more urgently.

"Hold your sea-horses lover-boy. I'll go get her something the old fashioned way. I obviously lack the culinary finesse of a Sand Witch." Morgana grumbled before slithering off.

After the sounds of Morgana's tentacles on the ice faded away, Ariel cracked an eye open.

"How was that?" She whispered.

"Best near-death performance I have ever witnessed," Aladdin complimented.

"Thanks,"

"Oh, and good job on the shudder. That really shut Morgana up." Aladdin added.

"I thought she needed a little more persuasion." Ariel agreed.

The sound of tentacles on ice soon reappeared, and Aladdin looked at Ariel urgently.

"Play dead again, got it." Ariel whispered before laying her head back and closing her eyes again.

Morgana soon came into view again, and she was carrying with her an ice slab with some red powder on it. She slid the slab into the cell, some of the powder spraying into the room.

"Here, blow that dust on her and then recite the incantation on the slab. It's a simple heating spell that even an idiot can perform." Morgana said before starting to move away.

Panicing, Aladdin gave a quick look at the slab and then called out to Morgana.

"Wait! I can't read this!" Aladdin cried.

"What are you, an illiterate?" Morgana asked.

"I grew up on the streets of Agrabah and my mom died when I was five! I didn't exactly have time to learn to read! Besides, I think this is in Atlantian, I wouldn't know how to read it anyways." Aladdin said.

Morgana sighed in frustration. "Do I have to do everything myself? Alright, bring the girl over here, and try not to spill the powder." Morgana said.

Hesitantly, Aladdin carried Ariel to the front of the cell, gently nudging the slab forward with his foot. Once he reached the barred door, he held Ariel to Morgana, his eyes pleading. Morgana picked up the slab with one of her tentacles, and unceremoniously threw the powder on Ariel. It shimmered, and then it slowly sank into her skin. Morgana said something in an obscure language, and Aladdin felt Ariel heat up instantly. Ariel shuddered, and slowly opened her eyes.

"Aladdin?" she croaked out.

"You're okay!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"Hooray, the perky red-head survives. Now, do you need anything else, a book or a sofa, perhaps?" Morgana asked sarcastically.

"I can't believe you're alright," Aladdin said, ignoring Morgana's question as he hugged Ariel.

"Alright, alright, try not to kill her with all that mushy stuff." Morgana said before slithering away. Once Aladdin could no longer hear her, he looked down at Ariel.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"I was afraid she would notice, but, yeah, I got it," Ariel said, holding up her fin and uncurling it to reveal the key to the cell.

Aladdin smiled.

* * *

Okay, sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones, but I felt kinda bad for taking so long to update, so I decided cut the chapter a little short and post it anyways. That, and I my writers block was threatening to show up again, so I decided to just end the chapter there. Oh, and there was ALMOST a kiss scene in this chapter! I wrote one, but then I was like, "Man, now where do I take the story from here?" so I decided to cut it out. Part of the reason this is so late is because I kept on going back and re-writing scenes, and I got stuck a few times, and I'm just lazy. :P Again, sorry for the late update! Only a few more chapters to go! Any questions, or if you're confused, just email me! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


	11. True Love's First Kiss

Hey guys! Here's another chapter! Not much to say now, so I'll just jump to the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Really. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin belong to Disney. So keep your lawyers locked up please, and keep them and their too-expensive suits and briefcases away from me. Please.

* * *

Ariel and Aladdin decided to wait until it was almost nightfall for them to orchestrate their escape. They decided they would have a better chance of escaping if Morgana was asleep. And so, when the hallways grew dark with the disappearance of the sun, Aladdin gently unlocked and opened the cell door, looking down the hallway to make sure that Morgana wasn't coming.

"Come on, the coast is clear," Aladdin whispered.

"Aladdin, I think you should go on without me." Ariel said in a hushed voice.

Aladdin turned around quickly to face Ariel. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Ariel gestured at her long green tail. "Look at me; I won't be able to make it down that hallway fast enough. I can barely crawl, Aladdin! I'll just slow you down." Ariel said, encouraging him to go with her deep blue eyes.

Aladdin frowned. "Sorry Ariel, you're not playing the martyr today." And with that, he quickly scooped Ariel up in his arms and started running down the hall.

He quickly skidded to a stop when he came to an open room. Like the rest of the lair, this room was made completely of ice, and it had what appeared to be a moat of water surrounding the floor, leaving only the center of the room with solid ground. However, what caught Aladdin's eye was what was hanging from a net on the ceiling, just above a small slab of ice in the moat.

"Ariel! It's Abu and Carpet!" Aladdin exclaimed in a whisper.

"Carpet can get us out of here!" Ariel said.

"I know! I'm going to go and try and get them," Aladdin said, gently putting Ariel down on the ice.

"Aladdin! Wait!" Ariel said urgently.

"What is it?" Aladdin asked.

By way of answer, Ariel pointed at the dark water, and Aladdin watched it, unsure of what Ariel meant, when he saw a sharp fin pierce the water for only a second before disappearing again. Aladdin cursed under his breath.

"She's got a shark?" Aladdin demanded.

Ariel nodded. "Undertow," she answered.

"How big is he?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel winced. "Well, you know how big Abu was when he was an elephant?" she asked hesitantly.

Aladdin felt his stomach sink. "You're kidding."

Ariel shook her head. "No. He used to be a normal sized tiger-shark, but then there was some mishap at a magical hot-spot, and then he just sort of . . . . blew up. Like a blowfish."

"Can he jump?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded. "Very high,"

Aladdin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "All right. I'm going to go get Abu and Carpet, and I'm going to try to not gain the attention of the giant mutant jumping shark. Stay here Ariel." Aladdin said before cautiously approaching the first bridge he had to cross.

It was thin, and made of ice, so Aladdin made sure he saw Undertow's dorsal fin pass before starting to slide across it. However, the shark must have sensed him, because Aladdin suddenly saw a giant striped shark jump out of the water, its mouth open, ready to swallow the street rat. With a yelp, Aladdin jumped off the bridge and onto the island in the middle of the room. Aladdin took a moment to catch his breath before standing up on the ice, and looking over at the smaller icy platform above which a small monkey and magic carpet were trapped. Aladdin slowly slid towards the edge of the ice, only to jump back when he saw two large yellow eyes looking up from the water. Great, how was he supposed to release his friends and get his and Ariel's ticket out of this icy wasteland if the giant shark wasn't going to let Aladdin past?

"You'll thank me later," a hushed voice said. Surprised, Aladdin turned around in time to see Ariel jump into the water, and almost immediately start splashing around and making as much noise as possible.

"Ariel! Stop!" Aladdin shouted, but he saw the dorsal fin head for Ariel. And the red-head ducked under the water, so that all gave hint to her location was a V speeding along in the water.

Aladdin watched for a second as the shark chased the mermaid, but then turned around and ran for the edge of the island, jumping and landing on the smaller ice slab. Looking up, Aladdin jumped so that he was holding onto the net. Abu was screeching Aladdin's name in excitement, and Carpet was starting to get a little rowdy. Aladdin ignored them and climbed up on the net so that he could see where the net hung from the ceiling. He started undoing the knot that held it in place, and soon, it began to slip. Eventually, the knot gave way, and the net fell. Aladdin braced himself, ready to hit the icy water, but Carpet flew underneath the street rat, catching both Aladdin and Abu. Aladdin looked down at the magic rug gratefully before steering towards where Ariel was fleeing from Undertow.

"Ariel! Jump!" Aladdin shouted.

The mermaid must have heard him, because soon, Ariel burst from the water, shooting upwards, her arms outstretched. And behind her, the shark also jumped, his jaws snapping at the mermaid's tail. Ariel let out a cry, but Aladdin grabbed her outstretched hands and pulled her onto Carpet before they flew out of Morgana's lair and into the cold Arctic night air.

"Take us back to Agrabah, Carpet." Aladdin said before turning to Ariel. She was curled up at his side, shivering.

"Are you alright?" Aladdin asked, worried.

"I'm fine," Came Ariel's muffled reply.

"Aladdin!" Abu screeched, pointing at something on the carpet.

Aladdin couldn't see very well due to the dark lighting, but he put his hand where Abu was pointing, and felt something sticky and warm on the carpet. His eyes opening wide, Aladdin gently propped Ariel up so that she was leaning on his side, and examined her tail.

The left half was in good condition. The fragile fin was in perfect condition. However, the right side was a whole other story. A portion of the web-like tail fin was missing, leaving a bloody mess. It was torn and ripped, and Aladdin felt his gut twist just looking at it.

"Ariel, you're bleeding." Aladdin said.

"It's alright, just a scratch," Ariel murmured.

"Ariel, almost half of your fin is missing." Aladdin insisted.

"Don't worry; I'll be fine." Ariel replied.

Aladdin frowned, and gently pried Ariel away from him, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Ariel, will your fin grow back?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel just looked down.

"Ariel, answer me." Aladdin pressed.

Ariel hesitantly lifted her eyes to meet his. "I'm a mermaid, not a starfish. Things like that don't grow back." She said quietly.

Aladdin felt his stomach sink. Ariel would forever be left with a deformed fin. Not that it would take away from her beauty, but it most certainly hinder her ability to swim. She would be imbalanced, it would be like trying to get everywhere by hopping on one foot. Aladdin couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt, so he looked down.

"Thank you," was all that Aladdin said, still looking at his hands.

Aladdin watched as pale slender hands grasped his own darker ones, and he slowly looked up into Ariel's blue eyes, shining with acceptance to Aladdin's unspoken apology.

"You're welcome," was what she said.

Abu made a sound that sounded suspiciously like "Oh, brother" jerking Aladdin and Ariel back to reality. Quickly, Aladdin pulled Abu so that the monkey was in front of Ariel.

"Ariel, this is Abu. Abu, this is Ariel. You've already met, but Abu was an elephant then." Aladdin explained.

Ariel smiled down at the little monkey. "Nice to meet you Abu," she said.

Abu crossed his arms and scowled before grudgingly looking up at the smiling red-head. He made a sound that sounded like "hello," and Ariel's smile only grew. Aladdin chuckled.

"That's better than what he gave Jasmine," he commented.

Almost immediately, Aladdin felt the previous humor he had felt fade. Jasmine. She was in trouble. Captured by Jafar, who was currently in possession of the lamp and probably ruling Agrabah by now. That's why they had broken out of Morgana's prison. They had people to save.

"We'll get her back, don't worry," Ariel said, placing her hand on Aladdin's shoulder. Aladdin looked over at Ariel, and saw the compassion in her eyes, along with something else. Was it pain? Of course. Eric. Ariel might have said that she wasn't in love with him back at the prison, but Aladdin knew otherwise. She did have deep feeling s for that prince. Aladdin couldn't help but feel a little resentment. Was there anyone out there who didn't think that guy was perfect except for him?

"And we'll get Eric back, too." Aladdiin said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Ariel gave him a quizzical look, and Abu promptly slapped his forehead, muttering some things in monkey-speak that Aladdin had learned to be very, very bad words.

"Watch your tongue, Abu." Aladdin scolded.

Abu only said more bad words, much more loudly this time. Ariel had a shocked look on her face.

"Where did he learn that kind of language?" she asked.

Aladdin looked at Ariel in surprise. "You can understand him?"

Ariel nodded. "Of course, I'm a mermaid: we can talk to all sorts of animals. You can understand him too, though."

Aladdin shrugged. "You pick up a few things when your only company is a monkey." He replied.

Ariel giggled. "I suppose you would." She said, smiling.

Abu made some gagging noises.

"Abu," Aladdin said disapprovingly.

Abu simply crossed his arms and glared at Aladdin, saying some more bad words.

"Being stuck in a net in the cold must have made him grumpy," Aladdin mused.

"I don't even know what some of those words _mean_. And trust me; the palace guards have quite a vocabulary." Ariel said.

"Yeah, and being on the streets of Agrabah can cause you to get an even more extensive knowledge of certain words." Aladdin commented.

Ariel just smiled. She looked up at the sky, and Aladdin couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked then. The silvery light of the stars and moon gave her an almost ethereal glow, accenting her pale skin and making her blue eyes shine. Even her ruby red hair had a sort of silver glow to it. She looked like she had stepped out of a fairy tale. Though Aladdin supposed she technically had, considering she was a mermaid.

"I had a dream about this once," Ariel murmured.

"About what?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel started, and Aladdin guessed she hadn't meant to say that out loud, due to the gentle pink blush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Oh, uh, flying." Ariel said, looking down, the blush growing a little brighter.

"I thought you dreamed of being a human," Aladdin commented.

"The dream was after I became human." Ariel said.

"You're never satisfied with what you have, are you?" Aladdin joked.

"I guess not," Ariel murmured.

Aladdin realized he might have hurt her feelings, and gently put a hand on Ariel's shoulder.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting a little adventure. Even when I finally got Jasmine to love me, I still wanted a little more. When it became official that Jasmine and I were going to get married, the Sultan started talking about how I would be the one to take his place. I didn't want to be Sultan, Ariel. I didn't want to have to deal with all of that responsibility, and what's worse, I felt even more awful for lying to Jasmine and her father. They were expecting a rich Prince from faraway lands to one day rule Agrabah, not some homeless street rat. I thought I'd be a horrible Sultan." Aladdin explained.

Ariel nodded and looked down. Aladdin looked at her for a moment before sighing and turning to look at the passing scenery. The ice was almost all gone by now, but there was no sign of land. Just open ocean.

"Aladdin," Ariel began hesitantly.

"Yes?" Aladdin asked, turning to look at the red-head.

"If it's any consolation, I think you'd make a great king." Ariel said.

"You think so?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel looked up at him and nodded her head. "Uh-huh. I mean, you're loyal, you're kind, you're incredibly honest, and you're one of the most good-hearted men I've ever met –"

Ariel was at that point cut of, due to Aladdin covering her mouth with his.

Ariel stiffened almost immediately, and Aladdin quickly broke away, aghast at what he had just done.

"Oh, Allah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that –"

However, Ariel must have decided to return the favor, as Aladdin was unable to finish his sentence when Ariel suddenly pressed her lips against his, her hands grasping his shoulders.

Aladdin quickly recovered from his shock, and gently wrapped one arm around Ariel's back, and pressed his other hand to the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. Ariel slid her hands up and wrapped her arms around Aladdin's neck, pulling him closer. And they remained in that embrace, until breathing once more became a necessity, and they both broke away, their arms still around each other, staring into each other's eyes. Ariel had this bewildered look on her face, and Aladdin was sure that he was sporting a similar expression.

"How long until we finally reach Agrabah?" Ariel finally asked, her voice a little breathless.

"I don't know. It could be a couple of hours." Aladdin replied.

"Oh," Ariel replied in a small voice.

Aladdin heard Abu groan, and then say something that sounded akin to "I wonder if a fall from this height would kill me."

Thankfully, the awkward situation was broken by a cry of "AARIELLLLLLLLLLL!"

Aladdin looked up in time to see a white bird plummet into Aladdin's stomach. He was sure that he would have fallen off had Ariel not taken a hold of his vest and pulled him back to the center of the the carpet.

"Thanks," Aladdin said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," Ariel replied, turning her attention to the small white gull.

"Scuttle, how did you find me?" Ariel asked.

Scuttle immediately jumped up and looked around wildly for a moment before he saw Ariel.

"Ariel! Oh, boy, am I glad to see you! You will not believe the crazy shenanigans that is goin' on over in Agrabah. That Jaffy guy's taken over the kingdom, and he's got some all powerful blue guy doin' supplyin' him with a never endin' stock of major juju. And he's got the princess caterin' to his ever whim, and the Sultan tied up like one of em' puppets, and the prince locked in a cell! I guess some bad stuff's goin' on in Atlantica, too, because that nice merkid you used to hang out with made with the escaping and came and found me. He wants to talk with ya." Scuttle said breathlessly.

Aladdin felt a twinge of pain when he heard how chaotic a state Agrabah was in, but he saw Ariel give a start when Scuttle reached the end of his speech.

"Can you show me where Urchin is?" Ariel asked.

"Oh, sure, no problem Sweetie! Hey, rug-boy, follow me!" Scuttle shouted before taking off and flying. Carpet followed the gull, and Scuttle soon led them down to a small rock in the middle of the ocean where a sandy-haired merboy was waiting.

"Urchin!" Ariel cried, sliding off of Carpet to embrace the merboy and yellow fish.

"Hey Ariel. Who's this?" the merboy asked, suspiciously glaring at Aladdin.

"Oh, Aladdin, this is Urchin . He's an old friend of mine. Urchin, this is Aladdin, he's . . . a friend, too." Ariel said.

"Oh, okay," Urchin said a little doubtfully.

"How are things in Atlantica?" Ariel asked.

"Bad. Ursula's taken over, and she has all of your sisters locked up. Poor Sebastian's forced to swim at her beck and call, and she's made Marina head of staff. I only just managed to get away with Flounder, and Gabriella decided to stay behind to keep an eye on things. Where have you _been_ for the past three days, Ariel? And why are you hanging out with a _human_? And since when could humans _fly_?" Urchin asked.

"Urchin, it's a really long story, and I promise I'll tell you, but not right now. I need you to take me to Atlantica and help me sneak into the palace." Ariel said.

"What?" Aladdin asked in alarm.

Ariel turned to look at him. "Aladdin, you need to go to Agrabah and stop Jafar, but I won't be much help there. I have to go and save my family."

"But Ariel, I have one wish left on the lamp, I can make everything better in Atlantica when if we get it back from Jafar." Aladdin argued.

Ariel shook her head. "No, this is all my fault Aladdin, I need to fix it. It's the only way I'll ever forgive myself for being so stupid. I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to happen." Ariel said sadly.

Aladdin considered her, and then sighed. "You're right. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Ariel gave him a small smile. "I'll be careful, I promise. Good luck." Ariel said.

Aladdin nodded. "You too," he said.

Ariel nodded at him, and then turned and looked at Urchin. He dove into the water, and Ariel followed in suit. Aladdin watched her go for a second, and sighed, turning away. He was about to tell Carpet to go on towards Agrabah, when Abu started jumping up and down, screeching his master's name. Aladdin turned around just in time to see Ariel burst from the water, shooting up and kissing him. Ariel pulled away and gave him a small smile.

"For extra luck," Ariel explained before turning and diving back into the water.

Aladdin stared after her, a smile slowly making its way onto his face.

"Aladdin? Aladdin?" Abu asked.

Aladdin turned his head and looked at the small monkey. "Yeah, Abu?" he asked.

Abu pointed at the white gull still perched on the rock.

"Hey, Ally boy. I can show ya the way to Agrabah if ya want." Scuttle suggested.

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah, that would be great, thanks." He said, nodding.

Scuttle nodded, and turned to address Carpet. "Follow me, Ruggy. Here we go!" Scuttle cried, taking off and flying over the sea, Carpet following him. And below, under the water, two merfolk swam in the opposite direction, towards a glowing golden city.

* * *

And they finally kiss! I actually almost wrote them kissing last chapter, but decided against it. It was probably pretty awful, the scene, since I've never written a kiss scene before, but I tried my best. I didn't put a whole lot of description into it, and didn't add tongues or anything because, hey, this is Disney, okay, they don't go into that kind of thing. I may have pushed it a bit with Ariel calling Jafar a bastard a few chapters back, but I wanted to keep the kisses sweet and simple. So, yeah, that's my piece. Hope you liked the chapter!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)

p.s. If any of you are surprised that Ariel and Aladdin kissed, let me just say, it was planned, from the begining, that this would be an Ariel/Aladdin romance. Okay? I know there are some die-hard Canon Disney Couple fans out there, but I'm really not one of them. Really, the only Disney Couples I ship are Belle/Beast and Tiana/Naveen (I haven't seen Tangled yet, but I assume I'll walk out of there fanatically shipping Rapunzel/Flynn when I do see it). I just really like crossing over Disney fandoms and such, and I personally think that Ariel and Aladdin would make a great couple, because I just think they would really click, you know? They both understand each other. That, and I've mentioned this before, but I think Eric is seriously under-developed as a character. So, naturally, he's one of my least favorite Disney Princes. I'm fine with Jasmine, but she's not my _favorite_. Nope, that right is saved for Ariel and Belle. And Mulan's pretty awesome, too. So, yeah, I just had to say that. Sorry if some of you had a heart-attack due to what happened in this chapter, but, seriously, it's not that big of a surprise, is it? I mean, I've kinda been leading up to it. At least, I think I have. If not, that's my bad, but still. One of the genres of this fic is Romance, so I think it would be safe to assume that this would be an Ariel/Aladdin fic. So, yeah, sorry about that little rant there. I just had to say that. Okay, now, I'm done.


	12. Ariel to the Rescue

Disclaimer: I own nadda. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are the property of Disney. Need I say more?

* * *

"What was that all about?" Urchin asked as Ariel swam awkwardly towards him.

"Nothing," Ariel said, looking down, her cheeks burning.

"Well . . . alright. I _still_ don't get why you were with a human though." Urchin said, folding his arms.

"Urchin, we were imprisoned together." Ariel said.

Urchin's eyes opened wide. "Imprisoned? By whom?" He asked.

"Morgana," Ariel said, playing with her fingers nervously.

"Morgana? But she can barely capture a blind snail!" Urchin exclaimed.

"Well . . . we were kind of handed over to her by Ursula." Ariel said.

"Ursula! So Sebastian was right! You _did_ go to her for legs!" Urchin shouted.

"Urchin, please –"

"You're the reason Atlantica's right in her tentacles!"

"I know! And I'm going to fix it." Ariel said.

Urchin pursed his lips and looked at her. "How?" he asked.

Ariel sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that it's _my_ mess, and I have to clean it up." Ariel said, pushing past her friend and swimming forward.

"Ariel! What happened to your tail?" Urchin exclaimed.

Ariel closed her eyes before turning around and looking at her mangled fin. "Undertow bit me." Ariel explained.

"I don't know how you expect to save Atlantica with half a fin," Urchin said, crossing his arms.

"Have you been hanging around Atina? Because you're starting to act like her. Look, I know that our chances are slim, and I know that I really messed up, but I need to know that you're going to help me with this." Ariel said, looking Urchin in the eyes.

The merboy stared at Ariel for a while, before sighing and nodding. "Yeah, I'm with you, Ariel."

A smile broke out on Ariel's face, and she hugged Urchin tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Hey, don't mention it," Urchin said awkwardly.

Ariel let go of her friend and sighed. "Come on, I need you to lead me to Atlantica." She said.

Urchin nodded, and swam ahead of her, gesturing for her to follow.

**line break**

It felt like they had been swimming for days. Ariel was exhausted, and she knew that it was thanks to her half fin. She remembered a time when a swim of this length would have been challenging in a refreshing way. But now it was just painful. She was imbalanced, and she kept on trying to curl her tail to balance out the flipping power, and yet she still kept on veering to the right and flipping onto her side unexpectedly. Ariel reminded herself countless times to thank Urchin for being so patient with her if they ever came out of this alive.

"Barnacles!" Ariel cursed after she avoided crashing into a boulder.

"We can take a break if you want," Urchin offered.

"No, we need to get to Atlantica as fast as possible." Ariel insisted.

"I could try and carry you if you want." Urchin suggested.

Ariel looked at Urchin and had to prevent herself from laughing. He still had the gangly appearance of a merboy barely past puberty. His arms were srawny with barely any skin or muscle on them, and Ariel was sure that had they both been humans, she would have been taller than him. There was no way that he would be able to manage carrying her all the way to Atlantica.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll manage." Ariel said, smiling at him.

Urchin nodded, and Ariel could have sworn she saw relief in his eyes.

Ariel sighed and looked down at her ravaged tail. "But we'll never get to Atlantica in time at this pace."

"So what do we do?" Urchin asked.

Ariel frowned and thought. Aladdin was really good at finding solutions. What would he do? Looking around at her surroundings, Ariel's eyes lit up when they came across some wide seaweed.

"Here! We can use this and tie it to my tail! It might balance it out!" Ariel said, gently plucking out one of the plants and holding it to her fin critically. It was the perfect size.

"And it's pretty stiff, too, so it won't be useless." Ariel commented, pulling out some thin and wispy seaweed, using it to tie the larger plant to her fin.

"There! That should work!" she said, flipping her tail experimentally. She was still a little off-balance, but not as much as she was before. Swimming would be considerably easier, at least.

"Come on! Let's go!" Ariel exclaimed, flicking her fin and swimming off, Urchin following her.

Things went faster from then on, and in a few hours Ariel began to see familiar coral reefs and boulders. They were nearing Atlantica. But Ariel could sense a change in the waters. It was colder, and murkier. The water felt almost dirty. Shaking off the slimy feeling, Ariel swam on, but stopped when Urchin grabbed her arm, motioning for her to follow him. Nodding, Ariel swam behind Urchin, and they went through the Kelp Forest. Ariel kept one eye above them as she followed Urchin, remembering the last time she had traveled through vast amounts of kelp. She didn't want to accidentally swim into a pack of eels.

Ariel felt extremely relieved when they had finally gotten out of the kelp, and frowned when Urchin led her down into a tunnel.

"Urchin, isn't this where . . ."

"The Catfish Club used to be? Yeah, this is the place. It's almost been forgotten, so Flounder, Gabriella and I decided to hide-out here." Urchin explained, swimming into the vast empty room.

"Psst, Gabriella! Are you here?" Urchin whispered.

"Urchin! Good, it's you!" a familiar voice said.

"Ollie! Gabriella!" Ariel exclaimed as the blue octopus came out of the shadows, closely followed by a mermaid with a pink tail.

The mermaid's eyes opened wide when they saw Ariel, and instantly she swam towards her friend, and the two mermaids embraced. After they parted, Gabriella made a few signs with her hands.

"Where have you been? We were so worried about you." Olli translated.

"It's a long story, Gabriella, and I don't have time to tell it. All you need to know is that I was stupid and selfish, and it's my fault that Ursula's ruling Atlantica." Ariel said, hanging her head.

Gabriella's eyes opened even wider, and she made some frantic, disbelieving gestures.

"So it's true then? You made a deal with Ursula to become a human?" Ollie asked.

"Did she tell all of Atlantica that?" Ariel asked.

"She told us that you betrayed us, and sold out to the humans." Ollie said after watching Gabriella's hands closely.

"I never meant any harm, I just acted rashly. But she's right in that it's my fault that Atlantica's like this. And I need to fix it." Ariel said.

"How are you going to do that?" Ollie asked, conveying Gabriella's question.

Ariel took a deep breath. "There's only one way that I can fix all of this. I need to get a hold of my father's trident."

Ollie, Gabriella, and Urchin stared at Ariel.

"I don't think Ursula will just hand it over if you ask nicely, Ariel." Urchin said.

"I know, we're going to sneak into the palace and steal it." Ariel explained.

"Oh, well, why didn't you just say so? I suppose you'll want to go and invite the Evil Manta to dinner of sea-kelp afterwards, too." Urchin said sarcastically.

"Look, I know it's going to be tough, but if you have any better ideas, please, I'd love to hear them." Ariel said, crossing her arms.

Urchin looked at her skeptically, and sighed.

"Look, I'm not asking any of you to come with me; I don't want to endanger you." Ariel said soothingly.

Gabriella immediately attacked Ariel, grasping her shoulders and shaking her.

"Woah! Gab! Slow down and let me translate!" Ollie exclaimed.

Gabriella let go of Ariel and made some quick motions with her hands.

"She says 'Are you crazy? You're our friend and we're in this together.'" Ollie said.

Ariel smiled at Gabriella gratefully. "Thanks, Gabriella. It means a lot to me."

"Ariel, I'm in, too." Urchin said.

Ariel smiled at the sandy-haired merboy.

"Thank you," she said.

"Woah! What'd I miss?" a voice asked.

Turning around, Ariel let out a cry of delight when she saw the yellow fish in the threshold.

"Flounder!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Ariel? Ariel!" Flounder shouted, swimming at the mermaid and tackling her. Laughing, Ariel wrapped her arms around the small fish and hugged him affectionately.

"Flounder, I've been so worried about you. I didn't know what had happened to you after you led me and Aladdin to the wedding barge." Ariel said.

"I swam back to Atlantica as fast as I could after King Triton disappeared, and I warned Urchin and Gabriella before Ursula came back and took over." Flounder explained.

"If it weren't for him, we'd all probably be in chains." Urchin said.

"That was extremely brave of you, Flounder." Ariel said, smiling.

Flounder looked down and laughed nervously. "It was nothing,"

"What's wrong with your tail?" Ollie asked.

Looking down at her splinted fin, Ariel sighed. "It doesn't matter. We have to get the trident away from Ursula as fast as possible."

"Wait, we're going to steal the trident from Ursula?" Flounder exclaimed.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Ariel said.

Flounder shook his head. "No, I'm coming with you." He said, though Ariel could see the fear in his eyes.

Looking at all of her friends, Ariel felt her heart swell, and she felt that she had never been more grateful to have such loyal companions. Smiling at them, Ariel gestured for them to follow her.

"Come on, let's go save Atlantica." she said.

* * *

"How do we get past those guards?" Urchin asked, peaking over the boulder to look at the front gate to the palace.

"Maybe one of us should cause a diversion." Flounder suggested.

Ariel shook her head. "No, I don't want you guys risking yourselves."

"Then how are we going to get in?" Urchin asked.

Ariel thought for a moment. Oh, if only Aladdin were here! He could have thought of a way to get past them! Creasing her brow in concentration, Ariel surveyed her surroundings, looking for something that could help them get in.

"I wish we had more resources," Ariel murmured.

"Maybe we can fight them off! They don't look so tough!" Urchin said, glaring at the guards.

"No, Urchin, I don't want to risk it." Ariel said, shaking her head.

"If only we were scarier-looking, then we wouldn't have to worry about fighting them," Flounder pouted.

Ariel's eyes opened wide. "Guys, I have a plan."

Meanwhile, the guards were at attention by the gate. They were unwillingly following orders given to them by Ursula.

"Do you think she'll notice if we leave our posts?" one of the guards asked.

"It doesn't matter if she notices; it matters if she finds out! Do you want your wife and kids burned to a crisp?" another guard hissed.

"Sheesh, I was just asking," the first guard murmured.

"What's that?" one of the other guards asked, pointing out towards the open sea.

Squinting, the second guard stared at where the other was pointing, and saw a large shape looming above the seafloor.

"Ready your positions men," he commanded, holding out his spear in a fighting stance.

Slowly, the thing came closer, becoming larger by the second, until a great creature was in front of them, two bright eyes staring down at the guards.

"Now can we leave?" the first guard squeaked.

The commander gulped. He could say that the creature overpowered them. Ursula couldn't hurt their families then. Besides, there was that slim chance that the creature might overcome the self-proclaimed Sea-Queen.

"Men! Play dead!" the captain commanded before swimming off.

The other soldiers quickly followed in suit, and soon, only the creature was left at the gate.

"It worked!" said its stomach.

"I don't believe it!" said its ear.

And then, the creature sagged, and collapsed onto the ground, leaving only a pile of kelp, three merfolk, one octopus, and one fish where it had been standing.

"Come on! Let's go inside before someone sees us." Ariel insisted, swimming past the gate and into the palace.

Inside, Ariel looked down the halls, and seeing no one there, motioned for her friends to follow. Swimming as quietly as she could, she stopped suddenly when she saw a shadow coming down the hall. Gasping, Ariel and her friends swam upwards and clung to the ceiling, waiting until the hammerhead sentry had passed beneath them. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ariel started swimming forwards again, looking down the halls for any more hammerheads or guards. Eventually, the came to the door to the throne room, and Ariel peaked her head in to look.

It was empty, and there was no sign of Ursula anywhere.

Except for the trident sitting in its sheath by the throne.

"There it is," Ariel gasped.

"Well, go on, get it! Only you can remove it." Urchin urged.

Ariel nodded, and cautiously swimming out in to the room, she looked around for any sign of guards or Ursula before zooming towards the trident. Looking around once more to be safe, Ariel wrapped her fingers around the trident's base, and pulled upwards.

It didn't budge.

Releasing it, Ariel stared down at the stand in dismay.

"She's altered the protection spell." she said in despair.

"Ariel! Heads up!" Flounder called.

Her head shooting up, Ariel gasped as she heard someone coming down the hall, and quickly dove underneath the table to hide. Putting her hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping, Ariel stared in wide-eyed fear as she saw black and purple tentacles sliding past the table on the floor.

"Everything is running smoothly, just as you asked, Your Highness," the grating voice of Marina said.

"Good, good. And the princesses?" Ursula asked.

"Still confined in the dungeons. Along with that little pest, Sebastian." Marina assured.

"Any news from my sister?" Ursula inquired.

"Sorry, Your Majesty, no word from the Lady Morgana of yet." Marina said apologetically.

Ursula sniffed. "She's probably still bitter about having to answer to me. Oh well, some things can't be helped. I'll have to check up on her in a while to see how that little mermaid and her street rat are doing, though."

"Of course, Your Highness. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Marina asked.

"No, you are dismissed." Ursula said offhandedly.

Ariel heard the swish of water as Marina swam by, and waited underneath the table in fright, silently praying that Ursula would leave soon, or carelessly remove the trident and leave it someplace that Ariel could retrieve it from.

Ariel was so intently concentrating on her prayers and fright, that she didn't notice the two moray eels sneaking up behind her, and she let out a cry of surprise as they wound themselves around her and pulled her out from under the table.

"We found a ssssneak, Urssssula." Flotsam and Jetsam said in unison.

Ursula turned around and smiled maliciously when she saw Ariel.

"Ah, child, what a pleasant surprise! I should have known that Morgana wouldn't be able to keep you prisoner. Where's your street rat, hmm? Has he gone to try and free his precious Princess Jasmine?" Ursula asked.

"Bring my father back," Ariel snarled.

Ursula chuckled. "Oh, but he signed a contract: his soul for yours, remember? I can do with him as I please. And right now, I rather like him as a decoration in my garden. He adds a certain class to it, don't you think so boys?"

"Oh, yesss, Ursssula." Flotsam and Jetsam agreed.

"Now, what to do with the nosy little mermaid, hmm? I can't harm you, that would go against the contract, but I believe that I can put you in a time-out for being naughty." Ursula said, smiling.

"Let me go," Ariel hissed.

Ursula clucked her tongue in disapproval. "Now, now, that's no way to treat your Auntie, is it?"

"Don't even try to get me to call you by that." Ariel snapped.

Ursula shook her head. "My, my, whenever did you get so headstrong? And after all I've done for you? Maybe I should warn Jafar about that street-rat . . ."

"You leave Aladdin out of this!" Ariel shouted.

Ursula raised an eyebrow. "Oh my, have you developed feelings for that boy?" she asked, shaking her head. "Oh dear, you teenagers are so impulsive, aren't you? You let your hormones do the talking. It was so easy to play off of your attraction to that prince. And I don't think I even needed to go through that elaborate disguise to prevent a kiss. You would have been your own undoing, falling for that piece of garbage."

"He is not garbage!" Ariel protested.

Ursula wagged her finger at Ariel. "Uh-uh, play nice and don't talk back, dearie. Now, tell me, who else did you bring with you?"

"I came by myself," Ariel lied, lifting her chin.

Ursula raised her eyebrow. "Is that so?" she asked, snapping her fingers.

Ariel heard a crackle of energy, and saw Marina's eels enter the throne room, having encircled and trapped Urchin, Gabriella, Ollie, and Flounder. The purple mermaid they answered too was swimming behind them.

"My schnookums found these rabble-rousers lurking outside your throne room, Your Highness." Marina said, bowing to Ursula.

"Excellent work, Marina. Now, what to do with these trouble makers?" Ursula wondered.

"Leave them alone!" Ariel cried, struggling against the hold of Flotsam and Jetsam.

"Perhaps a little shock ought to do them good." Ursula mused, removing the trident from its stand.

"No!" Ariel screamed.

"Say thank you to Ariel, children. She's the reason you're in this mess," Ursula said, pointing the trident at Ariel's friends.

"I said leave them **ALONE**!" Ariel shouted, her voice taking on a volume and intensity that she didn't know it could take. Instantly, the trident glowed hot red, and Ursula let out a cry, dropping the weapon.

Staring at the fallen trident, Ariel slapped Flotsam and Jetsam in the face with her fin and swam towards the trident. But Ursula saw Ariel's advance, and sprang towards the weapon.

Had Ariel had her full tail, she might have reached it in time.

Ursula grabbed the trident an instant before Ariel's hand would have grabbed it, and she snatched it away and pointed it at Ariel.

"Contract or no, you're going to be taught a lesson, you little brat." Ursula snarled, the trident beginning to glow.

Ariel stared in horror at the magical device, but her eyes opened in confusion as the glow suddenly faded. Ursula looked at the trident in irritation, and shook it a few times. And it might have been her imagination, but Ariel could have sworn that the trident turned slightly away from Ursula, and pointed towards Ariel.

Eyes wide, Ariel held out her hand in a way she had seen her father do, and concentrating, she willed the trident to come forward. It shook for a moment, and then it sprang out of Ursula's grasp and came flying towards Ariel.

"No!" Ursula cried, shooting forward to try and grab the weapon. But it had already entered Ariel's grasp, and she quickly pointed it at the sea-witch, and concentrated on just doing something to stop her . . . .

. . . . when Ursula, going at a speed to fast to stop suddenly, ran into the trident, its three prongs sticking out of her back. There was this shocked look on the sea-witch's face, and before Ariel could come out of her own shock, the trident glowed, and Ursula disappeared in a flash of light, a few dark purple scales and some wisps of white hair the only remnant of her. And gently, the empty crown floated down to rest on the ground.

There was a stunned silence in which nobody moved, and they all just stared at the place where Ursula had been. Ariel was the first to break out of her shock, and she pointed the trident at Flotsam and Jetsam.

"Over there, now." Ariel commanded, gesturing with the trident.

The two eels stared at the mermaid for a moment before swimming over to stay by Marina. Pointing her trident at the electric eels, Ariel tightened her grip, and the electricity they were emitting was sucked into the trident, rendering them just normal, ugly eels.

"My babies!" Marina cried.

"Call them off." Ariel said, her eyes hard.

Marina stared at Ariel, and then turned to her eels and snapped her fingers. The disoriented things came back over to Marina, and with a determined thought, Ariel shot a beam of light from the trident and at the mermaid and eels, and after being incased in the golden light, they disappeared.

Ariel's friends stared at her for a moment before letting out cries of joy.

"Dude! You just shish-ka-bobbed Ursula!" Flounder exclaimed.

"Where'd they go?" Ollie asked, translating Gabriella's question.

"I think I sent them to a cell in the dungeons, but I'm kind of new to this." Ariel said uncertainly.

"Your Highness, we heard a commotion and we were wondering –" a guard said, coming up to the doorway and stopping when he saw Ariel, his troops behind him.

"Hello, Captain." Ariel said.

"Princess Ariel," the Captain said in wonder.

"Ursula's no longer with us, you don't have to worry about answering to her now," Ariel said.

"What are your orders, then, Your Highness?" the Captain asked.

"I heard that my sisters and Sebastian are being held in a dungeon, release them please." Ariel said.

The Captain put his fist to his chest and bowed. "As my Lady desires." He said before turning and swimming away, his troops following.

"Now, where's my father?" Ariel wondered.

"Do you think he was turned to normal when Ursula died?" Flounder asked.

Ariel opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by a voice on the other side of the throne room.

"Ariel?"

Turning around, Ariel let out a cry, and she flew into her father's arms.

"Daddy," Ariel cried.

"Ariel, my brave, brave, Ariel." Triton sighed, stroking his daughter's hair.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. How can you ever forgive me?" Ariel wept.

"Forgive you?" Triton asked, pulling away and looking at his daughter incredulously. "Ariel, you just saved all of Atlantica. I believe that I should be thanking you."

"But, if I hadn't been so stupid Atlantica wouldn't have needed saving." Ariel said in confusion.

"Ariel, if I had just been just a little more open-minded, you wouldn't have had reason to act as you did. Twice now my stubbornness has nearly cost me you. It is I who needs to be forgiven." Triton said.

"Oh, Daddy," Ariel cried, hugging her father.

After a moment, Ariel pulled away, and held out the trident to her father.

"Here, this is yours," Ariel said.

Triton nodded, and gently took the trident from his daughter's hands.

"And here's your crown," Ariel said, bending down to pick up the fallen head-piece.

Triton took the crown from his daughter and placed it on his head. Almost instantly, the murkiness that had seemed to contaminate the waters of Atlantica disappeared, and the water once more felt clean and fresh.

"All is as it should be now. Ursula's spells have been lifted." Triton said.

"So, all of those people she transformed, they're . . ."

"Free to live the lives that she stole from them." Triton said.

Ariel nodded and smiled, relieved that all of the destruction the sea-witch had caused was being healed. However, Ariel was jolted out of her thoughts by the sudden shrieking of multiple girls.

"Ariel! Daddy!" Ariel's sisters cried, enveloping the two Royals in a group hug.

"Where were you?"

"We were so worried!"

"What happened to Ursula?"

"What's wrong with you tail?"

"Girls, girls, please, there will be time enough for questions later." Triton said.

"Yes father," the six sisters said automatically.

Triton turned to look at his daughter, and his gaze dropped to her tail.

"Ariel, what is that thing strapped to your fin." He asked.

"Oh, it's a splint." Ariel explained.

"What for?" Triton asked.

"My tail was bit by Undertow while Aladdin and I were . . ." Ariel gasped.

"What?" Triton asked in alarm.

"Aladdin! He's up in Agrabah trying to save it from Jafar! I have to help him!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Is Aladdin that human you saved?" Triton asked.

Ariel shook her head. "No, that was Prince Eric. No, Aladdin's my . . . my friend. He fell in love with Princess Jasmine of Agrabah, but he was a street rat so he couldn't marry her. But he found this magic lamp that had this genie inside that could grant him three wishes. He used the first to turn himself into a prince, and the second when he almost drowned. But the lamp was stolen by the Sultan's advisor Jafar, and he used it to make himself ruler of Atlantica. Aladdin and I were imprisoned together since Ursula and Jafar were working together, and when we were trying to escape Morgana's fortress I was bitten by Undertow. But once we got out I ran into Scuttle and Urchin, and we had to separate. He's gone to Agrabah to try and reclaim the lamp so he can undo Jafar's wishes." Ariel explained.

"Why did you not simply help this Aladdin retrieve the lamp so you could use the wishes to defeat Ursula?" Triton asked.

Ariel looked down. "I knew it was my fault that Ursula was in control of Atlantica, and I felt I had to fix it without any shortcuts." Ariel said.

Triton sighed. "Oh, Ariel . . ."

"But the point is Aladdin could be in trouble! I have to help him!" Ariel insisted.

Triton looked at his daughter long and hard, and eventually sighed. "Very well. But allow me one thing before I take you to him."

"What's that?" Ariel asked,

"Let me heal your tail, you'll be of much better use to the lad when you can swim properly."

* * *

Woohoo! Ariel saves the day! This is how I think the Little Mermaid should have ended. Because really, I felt Ariel was kind of useless at the end of the movie, and I don't like thinking of my favorite Disney Heroine as useless. :P So, yeah, hope you guys liked it! Just to warn you, the next chapter is probably going to be a lot more similar to the big final fight-scene with Jafar in Aladdin, as I'm not making AS MANY drastic changes to it. So, yeah, review!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


	13. Arabian Nights

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Disney. I'm not sure if I even need to tell you guys this anymore.

* * *

We return our story to above the sea, where the young man known as Aladdin was swiftly flying towards Agrabah, guided by the sea-gull Scuttle. However, while he should have been worrying about the impending battle, Aladdin's thoughts were entirely consumed by worry for the red-headed mermaid who was running – er, swimming – towards a battle of her own. Aladdin knew Ariel to be incredibly brave and head-strong, so he wasn't worried about her ability to go through her plan. No, he was worried about her stubbornness and bravery taking her too far. Ursula was a formidable opponent, and along with her clever brain, she also had the magic of the trident on her side. Aladdin didn't know the full extent of the power of the trident, but he was almost certain that it could rival the Genie's power. And to top it off, she had half a tail to swim with. Not only would Ariel need all of her bravery, but she would need a solid plan and resources as well.

Which is why Aladdin wished he could have gone with her.

"Hey, sonny, don't worry about Ariel. She's got experience in gettin' out of scrapes like this." Scuttle reassured, flying up beside Aladdin.

"Has she ever had to face someone who's gotten a hold of her father's trident?" Aladdin asked.

Scuttle nodded. "Oh, sure, loads of times . . ."

"Without her father there to help her?" Aladdin added.

Scuttle landed on the carpet and scratched his head with his wing. "Eh, you know, I'm not so sure about that one. But don't you worry! She'll be alright! She's tougher than she looks!" Scuttle said enthusiastically, flapping his wings and flying in front of Aladdin, returning to his task of leading Carpet to Agrabah. Aladdin sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Scuttle was right about one thing: Ariel was stronger than she looked. He almost fondly remembered seeing her vaulting over the railing of the boat and tackling Ursula to the ground, fighting against the magical chains that Jafar had created, and jumping into the water to distract Undertow. She had shown incredible bravery, and it was just one more thing to admire about her.

"Look! You can see the city!" Scuttle cried.

Looking up, Aladdin squinted and saw the silhouette of Agrabah in the distance, starting when he saw that the palace now resided on a mountain that towered above the rest of the city. A dark cloud surrounded the land, and Aladdin swore that he could hear Jafar's cackle.

Narrowing his eyes, Aladdin gripped the edge of Carpet tighter. "Come one, Carpet. Let's go save Agrabah." And with a sudden burst of energy, Carpet sped past Scuttle, spinning the confused gull around in a cloud of feathers.

"All right! I'll let you know if I get any word from Ariel!" Scuttle cried.

**line break**

In his cell, Eric sat against the damp wall, chains clamped around his wrists and ankles. His head was in his hands, and he was a pitiful sight for those who remembered the tall and brave man he was.

"Psst, Eric! Eric, it's me!" a voice whispered from the barred window.

Looking up, Eric scrambled to his feet and squinted at the window, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Aladdin?" he exclaimed.

"Not so loud! Is there anyone else there?" Aladdin asked.

Eric shook his head. "No, it's just me. But where were you? Where's Ariel? Is she okay?"

"I don't have time to explain. Ariel's fine, though. She's gone to try and stop Ursula." Aladdin explained as he worked at one of the bars, trying to loosen it.

"You let her go after Ursula alone?" Eric cried.

"Quiet! Do you want to let Jafar know I'm hear? And Ariel can be incredibly stubborn. I tried to convince her to come with me here so we could use the lamp to fix the Ursula problem, but she insisted that she fix it herself." Aladdin said, giving a satisfied cry when one of the bars popped out.

"And you _let_ her?" Eric said in disbelief.

Aladdin climbed through the bars and dropped down into the cell. "Well, I would have gone after her, had she not been swimming underwater." Aladdin said, giving Eric a pointed look.

Eric blinked in embarrassment. "Oh, right, she's a mermaid. I forgot."

Aladdin raised an eyebrow, but then started when he heard a noise coming down the hallway. Quickly, Aladdin darted into a corner as a guard came into view, opening Eric's cell door.

"Jafar wants to see you," the guard said, walking up to the Prince.

Quickly, Aladdin took the iron rod in his hand and he struck the guard on the head with it. He slumped to the ground, and Aladdin took the keys from the guard's belt, unlocking Eric's chains.

"Thanks," Eric said gratefully, rubbing his wrists.

"What do you think Jafar wants with you?" Aladdin asked.

"He's trying to coerce me into giving him my kingdom. He doesn't want to use up his last wish when he thinks he can force me into submitting." Eric said before looking at the guard on the ground. "What are we going to do with him?" Eric asked.

"Chain him up and gag him. We don't want him alerting the rest of the palace to our presence." Aladdin said, locking the chains around the guards wrists and using the guard's turban as a gag.

"Let's go. And try to be quiet. We don't want Jafar to know I'm here." Aladdin whispered.

Eric nodded, and the two crept down the hallway. It wasn't hard to figure out where Jafar was; Aladdin could hear his insane laughter miles away.

They soon came to the throne room, the cool white, gold, and blue colors replaced with black, gold, and red. Jafar was sitting in the ex-elephant throne, now in the shape of a snake, the sultan tied up like a marionette, Iago taunting him. Jasmine was in a rather skimpy red outfit, chained to Jafar, holding a plate with fruit and wine on it for him. She was obviously not pleased with her current position, what with that annoyed frown on her face.

"I can't believe he's treating Jasmine like a slave!" Eric exclaimed.

"It's completely degrading," Aladdin agreed, his eyes scanning the room for . . . . _there_! Right in plain sight on a table laden with food, was the brass lamp.

"I need to get the lamp. It's the only way to fix things." Aladdin said.

"So what's the plan?" Eric asked.

Aladdin racked his brains, but he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the Genie.

"Al! Where have you been?" Genie asked urgently.

"Shush! I don't have time to explain." Aladdin said.

"Do you think you could get the lamp for us?" Eric asked eagerly.

"Sorry Your Highness, Jafar's my master now. I can't take the lamp from my master. Part of the Genie's Code." Genie said apologetically.

"There's a Genie's code?" Aladdin asked.

"Oh, sure, there's a code for everything. Just like there's almost always a manual for everything. The only difference being people bother to read the code." Genie said.

"Genie, do you think you could provide a diversion so I can get the lamp?" Aladdin asked.

"What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?" Genie asked.

"That could work!" Eric said.

"Look, I just need you to keep Jafar's attention while I get the lamp. Does that go against the Genie's Code?" Aladdin asked.

"Nope! I'm on it!" Genie said, saluting before poofing away.

"What should I do?" Eric asked.

"Stay out of sight: this is my mess, and I need to fix it." Aladdin said, beginning to creep towards the lamp.

"Hey, Master! How's it going?" Genie asked, appearing beside Jafar.

"Genie! I have my third and final wish!" Jafar announced.

"Oh, really? Well, your wish is my command!" Genie said, laughing nervously.

Aladdin edged closer to the lamp.

"I wish to make Princess Jasmine fall desperately in love with me," Jafar said.

Aladdin stopped, and looked over at the Princess in question. She was on the floor, like Jafar had just struck her, dressed in a skimpy red outfit, a tablecloth clutched to her chest in fear. Eric was standing crouched by the doorway, his eyes wide in outrage and surprise.

"Uh, Master, there are a few quid-pro-quos . . ."

"Don't talk back to me you slave!" Jafar screamed, grabbing Genie.

Aladdin looked over and saw Eric motioning wildly to Jasmine, her face switching from surprise to confusion to understanding. She looked over and saw Aladdin, and nodded at him before turning to look at Jafar, determination and slight disgust on her face.

"Jafar," Jasmine called, slowly standing up.

"I never noticed how incredibly handsome you are," she purred.

Aladdin returned his attention to the lamp, and began to creep towards it again, trying to block out the conversation going on behind him.

"Go on," Jafar said, his voice low.

Aladdin inched closer.

"Hey, Jafa –" Iago shouted, only to be cut off by Scuttle and Abu tackling the parrot to the floor.

"Shut your trap, peacock-brain," Scuttle snapped.

"And you beard is so . . . twisted," Jasmine continued, wrapping an arm around Jafar's shoulder.

Aladdin reached out a hand to grab the lamp. Almost there . . .

But the scuffle between the two birds and the monkey knocked over a bowl of fruit, the metal crashing to the ground.

Jafar's head turned sharply around, but it whipped back around as something hit him in the head.

"Hey, Jafar! Let go of my fiancée!" Eric shouted.

Aladdin stopped.

Fiancée?

"You little . . ." Jafar growled, pointing his staff at Eric.

Aladdin's fingers were inches away from the lamp now.

"JAFAR!" Iago screamed, breaking free of the clutches of Abu and Scuttle long enough to shout to his master.

Jafar turned around sharply, and he let out an outraged cry when he saw Aladdin.

"You!" Jafar cried, pointing his staff at Aladdin, a blast of red energy bursting from the snake-head and hitting Aladdin square in the chest, sending him flying into a pile of gold coins.

Jasmine let out a cry and rushed at Jafar, trying to break the staff from his grasp, but the sorcerer easily beat her to the ground. Eric shouted and ran at Jafar, only for a beam of red energy to hit him and send him flying backwards.

"You all are being far too troublesome for my taste!" Jafar declared, raising his staff and capturing the three in a haze of red mist.

"How does it feel, Aladdin, to see your beloved Jasmine belonging to another, now?" Jafar asked tauntingly, forcing Jasmine and Eric closer together.

Aladdin stared at them. It didn't hurt as much as he had thought it would. He supposed he had Ariel to thank for that.

"Do even care a little?" Jafar sneered.

Aladdin remained silent, but nodded at Erik and Jasmine, showing them that he was alright.

They seemed to be a little more relieved after that.

"What's this? Have your affections been drawn elsewhere?" Jafar asked.

Aladdin kept quiet.

"What about that fiery little mermaid? What has become of dear little Ariel?" Jafar asked.

Aladdin spoke not a word, though he himself was wondering the same thing.

"Oh dear, has she gone down to save Atlantica?" Jafar guessed, twirling his staff through his fingers, grinning.

Aladdin kept his mouth shut, though he glared at Jafar more intensely.

Jafar chuckled. "Well, though I doubt she'll prove to be any threat, perhaps I should give Ursula a little heads-up anyways," Jafar suggested.

"Leave Ariel out of this!" Aladdin cried.

Jafar raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see," he said before making a circle in the air with his staff, creating a sort of red-tinged mirror. It cleared, revealing a green manatee cleaning the other side of the mirror, humming a tune.

"Oh! Why, hello there Mr. Jafar," the manatee said, dropping the rag in surprise and bowing.

"I wish to speak with Ursula, servant!" Jafar exclaimed.

The manatee nodded. "Right away, Mr. Jafar," he said before swimming out of range of the mirror.

"What does Ursula matter to you anyways?" Aladdin asked.

Jafar turned to face Aladdin, an amused smirk on his face. "What was that, street rat?"

"What do you have to gain by continuing to aid her?" Aladdin asked, thinking quickly.

"You seem to forget that Ursula aided me in bringing about your downfall," Jafar reminded him.

"And in return you would help her make sure that Ariel turned back into a mermaid, fulfilling the contract," Aladdin guessed.

Jafar smirked. "Precisely,"

"Then I assume you know how ambitious Ursula is," Aladdin said.

"Yes, almost as much as I am. Now, what is your point, boy?" Jafar asked.

"Just think, if you were in Ursula's place, would you want to just stop with the sea? Share the earth? What makes you think that Ursula won't turn on you to take control of the land when she gets bored with just the sea?" Aladdin asked.

Uncertainty flashed across Jafar's eyes. "I have the lamp; the Genie's power overrules Ursula's petty fork,"

"Uh, actually, Master?" Genie asked hesitantly.

Jafar turned around irritably. "What?"

"Well, you see, that trident is very old. Older than I am. It's quite possible that it's just as powerful as I am," Genie said.

Jafar laughed. "So? I am still the most powerful sorcerer in the world! No one wields more power than I!" Jafar cried, throwing Aladdin across the room and into a wall, chaining Jasmine and Eric to the opposite wall.

"With just a mere whim, I can destroy you all!" Jafar exclaimed, raising his staff, the Earth rumbling and fire beginning to rain from the sky.

"Let Ursula have the sea for now!" Jafar exclaimed, destroying the connection to Atlantica.

"In time it will be I that takes her domain from her! Then I will have both the trident and the Genie in my command! No one will be more powerful than I!" Jafar laughed.

"The Genie will!" Aladdin cried.

Jafar stopped and glared at him. "What?"

"The Genie is the one that gave you your power! Without him, you're just a puny, pathetic man! He'll always be before you!" Aladdin cried.

"Aladdin, no!" Jasmine cried.

"Al, leave me out of this!" Genie hissed.

But what Aladdin had said must have gotten through to the insane sorcerer, for he turned around and stared at the Genie long and hard, who laughed nervously.

"Don't listen to him, Master. Being smashed into the wall and hit with pure magic made him as bright as the guy who missed the day that brains were handed out, if you know what I mean," Genie said.

"The boy is right. Your power does exceed my own," Jafar said slowly.

"He's a complete idiot! Look at that face! Look at it!" Genie said, popping up beside Aladdin and taking his chin in his large blue hands.

"Do you see that squint? It's not because he can't see, he's just so dumb! He doesn't even understand half of what he's saying! Not exactly the brightest dog in the pound," Genie said, transforming into a large dog with long black ears, giving a throaty laugh that sounded like "Huy-uck!"

"Silence!" Jafar exclaimed.

"Genie, I have my third and final wish; to be an all powerful genie!" Jafar cried.

Genie sighed and glared at Aladdin. "Nice going, Al," he said before holding out a shaking finger and zapping Jafar.

The sorcerer began to expand, slowly becoming less solid and more smoke-looking, his skin becoming red, and the air beginning to spin faster and faster around him.

"What have you done?" Eric cried.

"Trust me!"

"The wind's all of a sudden on the move here!" Scuttle exclaimed, flapping wildly around.

"Hehe, you get 'em Jafar! Show 'em who's boss!" Iago laughed as he tried to hold onto his perch.

"Yes! It's all mine! All of the power is mine!" Jafar cried, raising his hands, the cosmos and stars seeming to be held in his large red hands.

"Hey! I think you're forgetting something!" Aladdin cried.

Jafar looked down.

"You wanted to be a Genie, and you got it!" Aladdin cried, bending down and picking up something shapeless and black off of the floor. But he had a feeling he knew what it would become.

"And everything that goes with it!" Aladdin exclaimed, holding up the shape as it transformed into a black lamp.

"What?" Jafar cried in surprise as black bonds appeared around his wrists.

"Phenomenal cosmic power!" Aladdin cried as Jafar was sucked into the lamp, pulling a resistant Iago with him.

"Itty bitty living space," Aladdin added, smiling triumphantly down at the lamp.

"Al!" Genie cried, hugging the street rat.

"You little genius, you," Genie said, pinching Aladdin's cheek.

Aladdin smiled and looked around at the palace. It had been restored to its original form, the red walls once more the cool white marble.

Aladdin looked over at Jasmine and Eric, and saw them looking awkwardly over at him.

"So, engaged, huh?" Aladdin asked.

Jasmine looked down. "Ali –"

"Hey, it's alright," Aladdin assured her, smiling.

At that moment, the Sultan came scurrying into the room, looking flustered.

"Where is he? Where is Jafar? Oh, when I'm through with him . . ." the Sultan growled.

"Father, it's alright; Aladdin took care of him," Jasmine said comfortingly.

The Sultan stopped and stared at Aladdin. "Well, where is he now?"

The Genie quickly took the lamp from Aladdin's grasp and threw it into the distance.

"Oh, just the Cave of Wonders," he said innocently.

The Sultan laughed. "Well, my boy, you certainly have proven yourself. If you and Jasmine still wished to marry I would be willing to bend that law . . . but I see things have taken an interesting turn," the Sultan said, turning and looking at Jasmine and Eric.

"Father, I –" Jasmine began, but she was cut off by Scuttle suddenly ramming into the wall.

"Where is he? Where's that slimy little parrot? I'll rip out all of those feathers! I'll do it with a dinglehopper!" Scuttle exclaimed.

"What is a seagull doing here?" Eric asked.

"He came with Ariel . . ." Aladdin said, trailing off, his eyes growing wide.

Ariel.

"She's still down in Atlantica!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"Al! It's okay," Genie said reassuringly, putting his hands on Aladdin's shoulders.

"You still have one wish left. You can use it for Ariel,"

Aladdin stared up at Genie.

"But, what about your freedom?" he asked.

Genie smiled sadly. "Al, I think saving Ariel and the rest of the sea from a crazed octopus lady takes priority. What's another millennium to me?"

Aladdin looked down. Ariel had wanted to save Atlantica on her own. And it sounded like she had friends down there in abundance . . . but still. Could she and a band of fish and merpeople really go against a sea-witch in possession of the trident and win?

"Genie . . . I –"

"Woah! Crab off the port bow!" Scuttle exclaimed.

Aladdin looked over and saw a little red crab climbing onto the window sill.

"What the –" Eric started, but was cut off when Raja lunged at the crab.

Sebastian let out a squeak and scrambled away from the tiger, bouncing onto the floor and scurrying around, his little legs making little tapping noises on the marble floor. Aladdin quickly bent down and scooped up the crab, Jasmine grabbing Raja as he lunged for Sebastian.

"Sebastian, what are you doing here?" Aladdin asked.

"Are you talking to that crab?" Jasmine wondered.

"What's going down in Atlantica?" Aladdin questioned.

"Everting's fine. Ariel got de trident from Ursula, and everting's fine," Sebastian gasped, collapsing onto Aladdin's hand from exhaustion.

"What did the little crab say?" the Sultan asked.

"Ursula's gone, Ariel won," Aladdin said in relief. She did it. Ariel did it.

"I was sent by King Triton . . . Ariel wanted to make sure you were all right, and that if you were, you didn't worry about her. King Triton wanted to see you all down by de shore," Sebastian added.

Aladdin's eyes opened wide and he turned to face the others.

"King Triton wants to meet us. Now,"

* * *

Okay, I keep forgetting to do this, but #1: OVER 100 REVIEWS! :O You guys rock! Seriously! And #2: I order you all to go to my profile, and click on the YouTube link. It will take you to an awesome trailer made by syl3317. She rocks guys. Seriously. Go to it and watch it and comment. And subscribe. She makes the best Ariel/Aladdin crossovers on YouTube. Go now. I order it. XD

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


	14. Happy Ending

Disclaimer: I don't know why I even bother with this . . . you guys know I don't own Disney. And if I did, Walt Disney would be rolling in his grave (or, as Lea Salonga put it – come back from the grave to kick me in the ass) because I'd be messing with his stories and making my fanfiction reality. But obviously, that isn't happening, so I don't own it. So I'd rather it if you didn't send Frollo to give me his "justice" junk.

* * *

Ariel swished nervously by the surface, glancing over at her father every once in a while. Why did he want to meet with Aladdin and Eric and Jasmine? Did he want to meet the human that was responsible for taking his daughter away from him? Did he want to thank the human whom had helped his daughter escape the clutches of Morgana? She wished that Flounder could have been beside her, or Urchin, or Gabriella, or any of her friends. She would have even appreciated Scuttle, though he might have just made things worse.

"Woah! Humans off the port bow!" Scuttle shouted, swooping down.

Ariel raised her head in surprise and she sighed in relief when she saw Aladdin, Jasmine, the Sultan, and Eric walking towards the shore. They were alright. Carpet was flying beside Aladdin, Abu perched on the street-rat's shoulder, and Genie hovering behind them.

"Ariel!" Aladdin exclaimed, obvious relief on his face when he saw her. Ariel smiled at him, and looked over at Jasmine and Eric, and saw their entwined hands. She almost heaved a sigh of relief. That made things considerably easier and less complicated.

"You guys are okay!" Ariel cried, leaning up out of the water to welcome her friends.

"We were so worried about you," Jasmine said, kneeling down to embrace the mermaid. Ariel was surprised at first, but then returned the hug.

"What happened to Jafar?" Ariel asked.

"Oh, Al was a little genius and tricked him into becoming a genie," Genie said, pinching Aladdin's cheek.

Ariel's eyes opened wide. "What?"

"Yep, and now he's trapped inside his own little lamp," Genie said.

"But, if someone rubs it . . ."

"Oh, it mysteriously ended up in the Cave of Wonders, I don't think there's a danger of someone finding him," Genie said innocently.

Ariel smiled broadly.

"You know, I don't think we've formally meet: I'm Genie of the Lamp, how do you do?" Genie asked, suddenly growing legs instead of the wisp-of-smoke-tail and bowing, tipping a top-hat that materialized on his head.

"Ariel," the mermaid said, bowing her head in return.

"What happened to that sea-witch?" Eric asked.

"Oh, well . . ."

"Ariel reclaimed my trident from her and used it to destroy that treacherous woman," Triton declared, swimming up behind Ariel and putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Your Majesty," Aladdin said, bowing. Eric, Jasmine, and even Genie followed in suit. The Sultan scurried up to Triton and eagerly shook his hand.

"It is an honor to meet you, sir! Really, an honor!" the Sultan exclaimed.

Triton seemed mildly bemused, and he nodded at the Sultan. "Likewise. Now, I see that you are the three whom have looked after my daughter while she was . . . away. Am I correct in that assumption?" Triton asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your daughter washed up on my shore three days ago. I took her in and then let her accompany me here," Eric said, stepping forward.

Triton eyed Eric. "Ah, I see. You wouldn't happen to be the same human that my daughter saved, would you?"

Eric nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. I owe your daughter my life," Eric said.

"I see," Triton said pensively. Ariel inwardly winced.

"And as for you two. I would assume that you are the princess of this land?" Triton asked.

Jasmine nodded. "Yes, You Highness,"

"I thank you for housing my daughter," Triton said.

Jasmine nodded, "It was nothing, Your Highness. I've come to think of Ariel as a friend,"

Triton nodded and then his eyes fell on Aladdin. "Now, where do you fit into all of this? By your clothes, I would assume that you are not the prince of this land. Tell me, what is your business here?" Triton asked.

Aladdin looked down, and Ariel could tell his discomfort. "Sir, I was a suitor for Jasmine,"

Triton raised an eyebrow, "Oh, the let people of all class ask for the Princess' hand here?"

Aladdin shook his head. "No, sir. I found the lamp of a genie and wished to become a prince,"

"Really?" Triton asked.

Aladdin nodded. "Yes, sir,"

"I see," Triton said before looking at all of the humans before him. "Once more, I must thank you for taking care of my daughter. I am in your debt. I don't know what I would have done had something happened to her. Now, Atlantica is in dire need of repair, and I must get started on it immediately. Come Ariel," Triton said, beckoning her with his trident.

"In a moment," Ariel said before turning to look at her new friends.

"I'll miss you guys," Ariel said.

"And we'll miss you," Jasmine said, Eric nodding.

Ariel turned to look at Aladdin, and she could see the conflict in his eyes. Was he really her friend? Or was he . . . something else? He confused her so much . . . she didn't know where she stood with him. Sure, they had kissed . . . but was that just in the confusion and desperation of the moment? They had both narrowly escaped Morgana, Ariel had gotten nearly all of her tail bitten off, and they were flying towards battle that they were both sure they would lose. But there was no ignoring that feeling she got in her stomach when she looked at him. She liked him more than a friend, she knew that. He was special to her, he understood her. And she would be sorry to lose that bond.

"Good bye," Ariel whispered to him before turning and diving after her father.

* * *

Aladdin watched as Ariel dove away, probably forever, and sighed. There she went. Probably one of the best friends he had ever made. Who knows what could have grown between them with time? Aladdin wouldn't have minded the idea of falling in love with her. In fact, he kind of liked the idea. She was bright, she was fun, she was kind, and she was brave.

"Al, are you okay?" Genie asked, putting a hand on Aladdin's shoulder.

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Genie."

Genie looked out into the sea, and back at Aladdin. "You really like her, don't you?" he asked.

Aladdin shrugged. "I . . . I don't know, Genie. I mean, I haven't really had time to really get to know her. Yeah, we've been through a lot together, and I already feel like I know a lot about her, but I don't even know her birthday, or what her favorite color is," he said.

"But you won't ever have time to find all of that stuff out. Al, you're missing a big opportunity here," Genie said.

Aladdin looked over at Jasmine and Eric who were deep in conversation with the Sultan, and then back at Genie. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Al, you still have one wish left: say the word and I could make you a merman. You could have the time to get to know Ariel," Genie said.

"Genie – I, I can't do that! What about your freedom?" Aladdin asked.

"What's another millennium to a genie? Besides, you're not going to find another girl like that. Mermaid princesses are pretty hard to come by these days . . ."

"Genie, I –"

"Al, it's alright," Genie said, giving him an encouraging smile and handing him the lamp.

Aladdin looked down at the brass in his hand. He didn't know what to say, or wish. A part of him was telling him to make the wish, to give Ariel a chance. But another part was telling him to keep to his word, to set Genie free. Aladdin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Genie, I wish . . . . I wish you were free," Aladdin said.

"One merman on a platter coming up – wait, what?" Genie asked in alarm.

Aladdin smiled, "Genie, your bonds are broken,"

Genie looked down in surprise as a mist came from the lamp, entwining around Genie and spinning faster and faster, Genie's cuffs breaking and falling from him, the lamp falling to the ground, the brass suddenly having lost its luster, and looking more rusted than it had before.

"I'm, I'm free. I'm _free_," Genie said in wonder before suddenly laughing.

"Hallelujah! Oh, world, do you hear the Genie sing! He is free! He is free as a bird! Oh, _yes_!" Genie cried, flying around and hugging Aladdin.

"Oh, can I kiss the monkey? Do you mind if I kiss the monkey?" Genie asked before smooching Abu on the head. "Blah! Hairball! Oh, Al, how can I ever thank you? I haven't felt this good in . . . in forever! Quick, ask for something ridiculous. Wish for the Nile, come on, wish for the Nile!"

"I wish for the Nile,"

"HOT HAPPENING!" Genie exclaimed before laughing and hugging Aladdin again.

"What's going on here?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh, I'll tell you what's going on. I am a free Genie, that's what!" Genie cried.

"Aladdin freed you?" Jasmine asked.

"You know he did! He is the best little guy to ever have lived!" Genie cried, hugging Aladdin yet again.

Aladdin smiled up at Genie, but he couldn't help but feel a little regret. Well, he supposed that ever getting to know Ariel any better wasn't an option in his future anymore. But he had given Genie his word, and Aladdin didn't think that he would ever forgive himself if he went back on that.

From behind the rocks of the shore, King Triton watched the scene with interest.

"Daddy?" his daughter called.

"I was just on my way, Ariel," King Triton said, turning and diving back down into the water.

Hmm, maybe that street-rat _was_ more than he seemed.

* * *

A month passed.

Aladdin had relocated to a sea-side town, deciding that it would be less awkward and . . . painful, he supposed, than living in Agrabah. He was still a street-rat, but only for the time being. He was hoping to eventually find a job to live off of – he didn't want to spend the rest of his life running from guards and stealing.

A part of him wondered why he had chosen to live by the sea, and he supposed it was for the slim chance that Ariel would venture to the surface and he would see her again. But Aladdin knew that her father would be watching her like a hawk, and she probably wouldn't even be able to explore those sunken ships she loved so much.

Aladdin sighed. Sure, he still had Abu and Carpet, and Genie stopped by every once in a while to check on him – though he also spent a majority of his time out exploring – and Aladdin had acquainted himself with a few other fellow street-rats, but none of those friends compared to Ariel. She understood him. They had a bond, a special tie. But Aladdin would probably never see her again.

"Hi, Aladdin!" a street-girl crowed, bounding up to him.

"Hey, Sadira," Aladdin said, giving her a small smile.

"What are you doing?" Sadira asked.

Aladdin shrugged, "Nothing much, really. Just thinking,"

"Do you want to go see the snake-charmer with me? He's working on three at a time!"

Aladdin shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm really not in the mood for it. Maybe some other time,"

Sadira frowned, but shrugged. "Okay, whatever. See you around," she said before trudging off.

Aladdin glanced back at her for a moment before sighing again. Abu came over to him and gently pat him on the head.

"Thanks pal," Aladdin said, smiling at the monkey and taking off his fez to ruffle his fur.

Grunting, Aladdin stood up, and started walking towards the docks. Maybe they had need for some ship-builders. He wasn't the strongest, but he could help hang sails and do things that required more agility.

As Aladdin watched the burly men bending the pieces of wood together to build the great ships, his eyes drifted over the sea, looking for a patch of red. When he saw none, he returned his attention to the builders, and was about to venture down and ask if there were any open positions – though the last time he had tried asking around for a job he had been beaten away – when someone tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me, mon, but you wouldn't happen to know where – _Aladdin_?" the man exclaimed.

Aladdin frowned, there was something familiar about his voice . . .

"Do I know you?" Aladdin asked.

The man just turned around and gestured wildly. "I've found him!" he shouted.

"Can I help you with something?" Aladdin asked in alarm, ready to bolt, when he heard a clear voice call out his name.

"Aladdin?"

Aladdin looked over the man's shoulder, and gave a surprised yelp when a mass of red pushed the man aside and attacked Aladdin, throwing her pale arms around his neck.

"Ariel?" Aladdin said in wonder.

The girl pulled away from him and grinned.

"What – how?" Aladdin asked.

"It was Daddy! He saw you free the Genie, and heard what you said about not really knowing me, and said anyone with that good of a head on his shoulders and that honest a heart had to be worth getting to know," she said, grinning broadly.

"And he sent me to make sure she didn't get into any trouble," the man said, sniffing.

"Sebastian?" Aladdin asked.

"De one and only," Sebastian said curtly.

"Well, I'd offer to show you around, but there really isn't much to show," Aladdin laughed.

"Are you kidding?" Ariel exclaimed, looking at everything with wide eyes.

"There's so many wonderful things around here – what's that?" Ariel asked, pointing at a vendor's stall.

"Well, you know how Grimsby smokes a pipe?" Aladdin asked.

Ariel nodded.

"It's the same concept, but just in a different form," Aladdin said.

Ariel's eyes widened. "Oh,"

Aladdin smiled. "Do you want me to show you around?" he asked.

Ariel looked at him and nodded vigorously. "I went about seeing the human world all wrong last time: I couldn't ask any questions!"

Aladdin laughed. "Well, then ask away. Come on, what do you want to see first?"

"Hmm . . . . oh, let's go see that over there!" Ariel exclaimed, pulling Aladdin in the direction of the snake charmer.

Aladdin smiled, the future looking considerably brighter. He may not know yet if he loved Ariel, but it would certainly be an adventure all in itself finding out, and getting to know this bright and happy girl.

Falling in love would take time and trust, but Aladdin could wait for it to happen. After all, it's the experiences that make love stronger.

And Aladdin couldn't imagine having those experiences with anyone but Ariel.

_Now I'm part of your world_

_A whole new world_

_For you and me_

* * *

*curtain closes and I bow* Thank you, thank you! Yes folks, sadly, the story has reached its end. There may or may not be a sequel on the way (go to my profile for more info on that, it's towards the bottom of the paragraph in which I grovel before my readers) but I think I'll take a break for a while and catch up on my other stories. Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story, you guys made this possible! You all have been so wonderful, and if I ever do write a sequel, I will let you guys know.

I'll miss you!

~FantasticMisticalWonder (FMW/Wonder)


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